Gundam Wing Fairy Tales 2: The Frog Prince
by shinigamiinochi
Summary: Duo, lost in the woods, is saved by a vagrant, whom he promises to give a home for his kindness. The two of them quickly become friends, much to the annoyance of Duo's elder sister, who will do anything to tear them apart. 1x2
1. Chapter 1

Gundam Wing Fairy Tales 2: The Frog Prince

Author's Note 1: For those on , I've decided to extend the Road to Kindness 30+ page rule to all my fics. Because it makes sense to get reviews WHILE I'm writing instead of when the chapter is actually done, and because my computer is a piece of junk and frequently screws with my head, I'll be posting chapters 30 pages at a time, as I'm writing them. I'm currently working on TRTK (as always) and A Stagnation of Love (let's see how many months it takes me to finish the next chapter -_-). Fanfiction has been slow for me lately for many, many reasons, none of them motivated by the writing itself. Thankfully, I have never gone through the pain in the ass that plagues a lot of authors known as writer's block. I'm hoping this new posting method will also force me to write more during my down time (what little there is anymore.)

Author's Note 2: This plot bunny bit me in the ass when I found a book on Grimm fairy tales my cousin made for me when we were kids. It's only going to be a one shot and it's not going to be as weird and dark as Snow White, I promise. For those at , yes, I will be combining all these parts into one chapter. And look, no rape! Though there is an evil Relena (it's a fic based on a fairy tale, of course I'm going to use Relena as the evil sister). Some notes on the original 'The Frog Prince', first.

It continues to amaze me how people can take something like a fairy tale and twist it so much. Ask just about anyone and they'll tell you that The Frog Prince is a tale about a princess who kisses a frog and it turns into a handsome prince. However, this is completely WRONG. Those of you that are in your twenties will, like me, probably remember the movie version in which a pretty little princess loses her golden ball and a frog gets it for her. She's so grateful, she lets the frog live with her, only her sister is so disgusted by the creature, she tries to get rid of it. The story ends with her kissing the frog and being whisked away to a beautiful kingdom to become Queen. This, however, is not the fairy tale. Yes, there is a very beautiful princess who loses her golden ball and a frog helps her out, however, when he makes her promise to take him home, to eat from her plate, and to sleep in her bed, she doesn't honor it. She runs back home and is horrified when the frog shows up the next day. The King (one of the only decent characters) forces her to keep her promise. The princess hates the frog and is disgusted by it. That thing about the princess kissing a frog that turns into a prince? Not true. When the little guy tries to sleep in her bed, she throws him against a wall, which, somehow, transforms him into a prince. So, here's a lesson kids: throw ugly things into walls, they may make your dreams come true! So, honestly, I don't have any idea where the 'kissing a frog will turn it into a prince' thing came from. This is my take on the original story. There are no literal frogs, but there is an annoying girl who breaks her promises and a loyal servant to the prince (he was called Henry in the original tale and he was the only other decent character besides the King, he way loyal all those years that the prince was stuck as a frog and even cried over the guy). This was going to be a Valentine's Day fic, but I thought of it too late.

Pairings: 1x2, 13x9, unrequited R+1.

Warnings: AU, OOC, bastardized Relena, dead Noin, angst, sap, lemon, het, yaoi, language.

Summary: One day, a lonely boy named Duo is rescued by a dangerous looking man named Heero. Wanting to repay him for his kindness, he brings the man home and the two quickly become friends. However, his elder sister, Relena, will do anything to get rid of the kind stranger, but when Heero's secret comes to light, she might just settle for tearing apart the two friends.

*****

Treize and his beautiful wife, Noin, had wanted children more than anything in the world. Treize was the sort of man any woman would have been glad to have as her husband, tall, handsome with sandy brown hair and light blue eyes, as well as very wealthy, kind, and patient. The same could be said for Noin, a passionate, loving woman with short, raven hair and twilight eyes. They had been married quickly, but their love for each other had been as bright as a flame in the darkness, and hard to put out. Very early on in their marriage, they had discussed having children. With Treize's wealth, money wouldn't be a problem with raising children and, to both of their shocks, the other had no qualms about kids. At first, things had been hard for them. A year had passed with the pair trying as hard as they could to have a baby with nothing to show for it. They went to specialists, only to be told that there was nothing wrong with either of them. Little did he know, but listening to his wife sobbing late at night over something that she had believed she could never have would haunt Treize for the rest of his life. However, all of their wishing finally paid off during one late summer, Noin had given birth to a beautiful baby girl.

Most wealthy men would have been upset at having a girl child, as most wealthy men are concerned about heirs and the continuation of the line, but Treize was no such man. He had looked upon his new born daughter with absolute love and devotion. He knew, the second he had laid eyes on her, that there was nothing in the world he could love more than his child. Little did he know that in only five years time, he would have not one, but three children, each that he loved more than anything else in the whole world.

Twenty years later….

Treize had thought, at his current age, he would have left the more tiresome aspects of father hood behind him and be able to relax knowing that his children were mature enough to mostly take care of themselves. He had, obviously, been mistaken. Two hours ago, he had sent his middle child, Relena, to water his Noin's orchids, but, having set foot in the green house only a few minutes ago, it was obvious to him that she had not done her chore. It wasn't such a rare thing, however, for his daughter to either forget, or outright shun one of her chores, and she certainly didn't have many. Most of the work was done by either his youngest child or one of their servants, but he had been sure that a simple task like this would be easy for her. No, the task itself was not what made his Relena so… irresponsible, it was simply the idea of work. Though she was a full three years older than his youngest and only two years younger than his oldest, she acted like the child of the family, always running off to play instead of doing what she was told. In earlier years, he would have ignored such behavior and let her do as she pleased, being the only daughter still living at home and he did cherish her, despite her stubbornness and laxity. However, as he was getting older, he had realized the damage he had done by spoiling the girl and that, one day, he would not be there to guide her and prod her along. One day, his little girl would have to realize that she was an adult and the world was not all gold and diamonds. But, though he had spent the last few minutes searching for the girl, he had the feeling that she was not in the house.

It was a beautiful spring day outside, though in the far horizon, dark clouds were gathering and, without the aid of the news programs, he knew there would be a storm the next day. He was positive that Relena was outside, perhaps searching for wild roses, one of her favorite things to do. When she had been very little, she had been obsessed with the bright red flowers that grew in the woods and along the river that curved near their mansion home. Knowing this, he had hoped that he could coax her to take care of her mother's flowers, but Relena only cared for how the flowers looked, and had absolutely no interest in the actual care of the living things. He remembered how, on her sixteenth birthday, he had given her a brightly colored finch. She had been enthralled for the first week that she had had it, but had quickly become bored, especially when she discovered that live animals required work. Instead of telling Treize to take it away, she had neglected to take care of it and the poor thing had almost died. Horrified by this, Treize had thought to take the finch back to the store, to give to a proper owner, but his youngest child had taken the bird and cared for it, bringing it back to health. He had been caring for it these past two years and the bird was still alive and well. The memory of his youngest, smiling brightly as the bird perched on his finger, brought an equally bright smile to Treize's face.

Treize descended the porch and wide steps of the front of the mansion that they called home, hoping that he would find Relena out front. As he passed by the small pond that was near the greenhouse, he spotted one of his other children, his youngest, in fact, sitting by the pool, watching the koi fish swimming about. Treize smiled fondly, though his child couldn't see it.

"Duo," he called. The boy turned and smiled at his father.

"What's wrong, Dad?" the teenager asked, immediately picking up that there was something wrong, which only made Treize smile wider.

Noin and Treize's first daughter they had named Hilde, after the valkerie, a woman that had been able to surpass anything, even death. She, just like all of their children, was beautiful, inheriting her mother's hair and eyes. She acted like a valkerie as well, full of strength and pride. Treize and Noin had been so happy when she and their son, Duo, had become best friends, despite their differences, as early as when Duo was a toddler. Treize didn't know who had been sadder when she had gone off to college two years ago, Duo, or himself. He didn't know what had made it worse for himself, that Hilde was his first born, the seed of all of his hopes and dreams during a time when they had felt so hopeless, or because she looked so much like his wife, it hurt to look at her sometimes.

When Hilde had been born, Noin and he had been satisfied, believing that a miracle had happened and she would be their only child. They had been shocked, a mere two years later, when Relena had come along. As much as Hilde had looked like her mother, it had been clear that Relena had gotten most of her genes from Treize's side of the family. She had almost the same shade of his hair, only just light enough that when the light of the sun reflected off of it, she looked almost blonde, as though she had wheat for hair, and her eyes were the same blue as his. However, Relena had been a high maintenance child. Treize did not know if this was because they had constantly doted on her, her beauty reminding them of European princesses, or if it was simply a part of her nature. Though, even as a baby, she had been fussy. Yes, there had been times when Hilde had been the same way, but Relena had been that way most of her babe-hood. She had cried constantly and as a child she had been an absolute terror, throwing temper tantrums left and right and Treize was sure he had made this behavior worse by never denying her a single thing. She was remarkably bright, but her temper seemed to overshadow what positive traits she had.

Three years after Relena's birth, they had been blessed with another child, their only son, Duo. It had seemed like an odd name, but they had found it funny at the time. When Noin's doctor had told her that she was to have twins, she had panicked. One child at a time she could handle, but she had no idea what to do with two at once. Readily, they had decided to name the twin boys Damien and Nathaniel, only to discover, after another round of tests, that there had been a mistake and there was only one boy inside of her. Noin had joked, throughout her entire pregnancy, that it was as though God had heard her prayers and had forced the boys to merge as one once more. However, this joking had turned softer and more fond when they had taken their first look at the babe. While Hilde looked like Noin and Relena looked like Treize, Duo looked like neither of them, like no one in their family. He had a thick mop of gorgeous chestnut hair, shimmering with golds and reds and all sorts of shades, his eyes an equally stunning violet, the likes that Treize had never seen before. The doctors had told them to expect his eye and hair color to change as he aged, but such a thing had never happened. Noin had truly started to believe that God had heard her pleas and that Duo had been a gift from an angel.

As much as they had doted on Relena, they had done tenfold to Duo. Unlike their middle daughter, as a baby, Duo had never cried and had caused little mischief as a child. He had truly been a gift from above, a reprieve after the torments that Relena put them through. A pensive boy, though seeming a bit lonely at times, Duo was full of energy for life, though not hyper like Relena had been, and acted as though he were the older sibling, readily taking up Relena's chores and trying to help with the servants, saying that he enjoyed the work, though Treize also knew that his son was strongly empathic, hating to see the suffering of others to the point that he worried about him with strangers. Duo was the sort of boy that thought about everything he said, so that, when he spoke, his words would have true meaning and not just be noise. Treize supposed that it was those patient, kind traits that had given his son a special place in his heart, though it could have just been the fact that the boy was small and physically, obviously, the youngest of his little brood. He did worry about him, though. He was concerned that some stranger would use his son's kindness and gentle nature against him one day. It didn't help that Duo was beautiful, in a sort of earthly way, like an elf or white wolf. Beauty was in his nature, it wasn't something he set out to create, at times Treize deeply believed that his son didn't even realize his good looks, which made the thought of someone taking advantage of him all the more real.

Treize's smile turned slightly sad and thoughtful as he saw the brilliant ball of quartz that Duo was rolling around in his hand. The ball, the size of one of Duo's slender hands, shimmered in the sunny light, flecks of gold and white and silver-fire caught in the bright light and made Treize's heart ache. Seeing the expression on his father's face, Duo's own smile fell and was replaced with one of deep ache and darkness. Treize wanted to immediately try to destroy that look, but floundered, not quite knowing how, though he knew the reason why it was there.

"Have you seen your sister?" he asked instead. Duo shook his head, the long braid that he had started to grow when he had been only seven thumping against his slender back. Treize loved that hair, though he wasn't sure why. When Duo had proclaimed that he wanted to grow out his hair, Treize had had no objections, partially because he felt he could never deny Duo anything that would make him smile and partially because he honestly could see no harm in it. He wasn't sure of Duo's reasons, but it was hard to imagine him without the long locks now that he was fifteen and it had been eight long years since he had had short hair. Duo wore a slightly guilty look at not knowing Relena's whereabouts, which in turn made Treize guilty for asking him to begin with. It wasn't at all fair to either of his children, but Duo was easily the most responsible and so Treize felt he could rely on him for anything. Because of this, he often put Relena's safety in Duo's hands, knowing that he would do as he was told. Relena had always hated that her younger brother was her keeper, but Duo had thus far kept her out of harm's way.

"I'll find her," the boy promised, standing with the ball of quartz in his hand. He paused for a second, as though some invisible force was keeping him there, and his violet eyes met his father's blue ones.

"About Mom," he started hesitantly. Treize stilled as though he had come across a skittish white deer, marveling at the rareness of it and frightened he would scare it off. Duo bit at his lower lip, a common sign that he was distressed and, to Treize's dismay, he shook his head.

"Never mind," Duo murmured and ran off towards the gazebo at the back of the mansion. Treize followed him with a devastated look, wanting to demand that he come back here and tell him what he was about to say, but he didn't dare.

Ten long years ago, Noin, Treize's wife and the only woman that he had ever loved, had passed away. It had been a month after Duo's fifth birthday, and though he had been so young at the time, he had loved his mother deeply, as only a young child can completely love his mother. It had been hard raising the three children without her love and support, but somehow, he had managed. He wondered if Relena would have become a different person if Noin had lived, but knew how pointless it was to speculate on such things. The mansion seemed so empty without her and he worried at the effect her death had had on his son. He seemed so… lonely, especially after Hilde had left him and Treize didn't know how to comfort him. That ball of quartz… Noin had given that to Duo as a present on the last of his birthdays she would ever see. Even before her death, he had treasured it greatly. Unlike Relena, Duo found the greatest joy in such simple beauty, caring not for expensive electronics or jewelry, but loving pretty stones and pressed flowers, something he could treasure, but also something that was natural. Then, Noin had passed away and Duo had clung to that stone like another child would a blanket or teddy bear. Treize had seen Relena eying the stone with jealousy, but had put his foot down about her playing with it. It was _Duo's, _he had told her time and time again, and it was certainly not a toy for careless girls to play with.

Treize sighed as he went back into the house to tell the cook to start dinner. He supposed it was the fate of wealthy children to be lonely, having few of their class to play with, but it was even worse for them. Their home sat in the heart of a great old wood, far from schools and other young people for his children to be with. They were a bit isolated, but the river and woods were beautiful and Noin had found it so relaxing. Treize had, at one point, found it on the tip of his tongue the suggestion to move after Noin's death, but had never voiced it, knowing that Duo would hate moving as he loved the woods and he loved their house and the memories of his mother within it, though Duo would never say those things, simply letting Treize and Relena do what they thought best. Duo could be just as stubborn as his older sisters, but often second guessed himself when it came to making important decisions. Treize sighed again, deeper this time. Relena and Duo had never had many friends, but Relena seemed to revel in her privacy while Duo seemed just so… lonely. Lonely down to his bones, down to his soul. He was so quiet and often had a sad look about him, a look that Treize did not know how to banish. How could he force a friendship on his son? Friendship had to come naturally, freely, but how could such a thing happen when there was no one around for Duo to connect to? It couldn't be healthy for a teenager to have these feelings. If he acted like Relena, content with his isolation, Treize would have let it pass, but he could see that his child was miserable, missing his eldest sister and his mother. Also… it couldn't help that the poor thing blamed himself for what had happened to his mother so long ago.

As Duo walked to the gazebo in search of his older sister, he was deep in thought. It wasn't the first time he had tried to talk to his father about what had happened to his mother, but his fear of his father's disappointment and anger at him for her death always stopped him. He thought that, if he could just pretend that his father loved him and didn't hate him for killing her, then he could survive, but if he had to talk about it, how could he ignore his father's feelings, then? He ran a hand through his long bangs, unsure of what to think or do. He had been a small child when his mother had died, but he remembered her so clearly and he missed her so much… His special ball of quartz seemed to warm in his hand he was squeezing it so hard. He frowned as he finally came upon the gazebo and saw his sister, dressed in one of her blue skirts, sitting on the white, wooden bench, plucking the petals off of one of the daisies that grew near.

"Relena, what are you doing?" he asked sternly. She seemed to finally notice him and gave him an annoyed look.

"What do _you _want?" she hissed coldly. Duo knew, had known since he had been very little, that he was his older sister's least favorite person, but at times, like now, he was taken aback by her sheer contempt at his existence. He couldn't see how he could make things better and he deeply wished to have a relationship with Relena like the one he had with Hilde. He couldn't change the fact that he had been born anymore than he could change that his father saw him as the 'responsible one', often making him baby sit his older sister, which drove her into a mad rage. Still, he had born her insults and bullying for too long to be cowed by her with a mere look.

"Dad is looking for you," he said in a sharp voice, trying very much to sound and act like his father, the only one that could bring the blue-eyed girl to heel, but felt that he didn't have the strength to come close, "You shirked your chores again, didn't you?" he scolded. Relena scowled at him.

"What's the big deal? They're just flowers and it's not like _you _won't do it anyway, you suck up," she insisted with a slight sneer on her face. Even though it was true, Duo hated that look.

"It is a big deal," the sound of their father's voice made Relena's back stiffen, "Those were your mother's flowers, besides, I gave that chore to you, Relena, not Duo. You can't rely on your brother all the time," Treize said coldly. Deep inside, Relena seethed. Their father was always defending Duo. So what if she had decided to come outside and play in the pleasant afternoon air instead of watering some stupid plants? They had servants for that sort of thing, but for some reason, Treize insisted that she do some of the chores. She couldn't understand her father, they had so much wealth, but instead of showing them luxuries, he made them work! Then there was Duo… he really was such a suck up, not only doing everything he was told, but actually helping the hired staff, it was sickening! He acted more like the common children in the town that they sometimes visited to go to movies than the son of a rich man. But, there was absolutely nothing she could say or do to make her father look at her brother in the same way that he looked at her, so distrustfully… as far as their father was concerned, if anything went wrong, there was absolutely no way that Duo could be responsible, he was just too… mature.

"But, Father, it's such a lovely day out," she whined, hoping to talk her way out of a scolding, "I was just about to go for a walk in the woods, I was going to water the flowers later, honest!"

Duo looked at her sharply. He knew that their father would never see it, but he could tell that she was lying just by looking at her face. Oh, he had no doubts that she had wanted to take a walk in the woods, but he knew that she had had no intention of doing her chores. Something cold laced up his spine at the thought of going into the woods. They were beautiful, especially at this time of year, but they scared him. They were like a labyrinth, full of wild beasts, rocks, and then there was the river, which was deep and long. Normally, he loved everything about nature, but he stayed clear of the woods.

"Absolutely not," Treize snapped, folding his arms over his chest, "You are not going out into those woods by yourself," he said with a dark look in his blue eyes, "They are much too dangerous. There are wolves out there, and possibly even bears."

"But it's beautiful out and I can take care of myself!" Relena protested, "Please, Dad, I'm eighteen years old, I'll be careful!"

Duo snorted in disbelief. Of course, the second she wanted something, his sister would harp about her age, but more often than not, she acted like a little girl. Still, he could see that Relena's look and whinny voice had hit a weak spot within their father, he could actually see his resolve crumbling.

"Alright," Treize agreed. Relena seemed to crow with delight at having gotten her way once more, but Treize put up a hand to stop her from running off.

"However, there are conditions. The first is that you must come back in a few hours. The cook is starting dinner and it should be ready by then. It will be getting dark around then anyway and I don't want you getting lost. The second is that your brother will be going with you," Treize ordered. Relena opened her mouth to protest, but her father didn't give her the chance to say anything.

"This is non-negotiable Relena. Duo will look after you and if you get lost, two pairs of eyes are better than one. If I don't see a hair of you by suppertime, I don't care where you are, you will be grounded, is that understood?"

Relena wanted to tell him that there was no way she was going to let her little brother follow her around like some lame guard dog, but knew that tone in his voice and knew that either Duo was coming with her, or she wouldn't be going.

"Fine," she pouted and marched towards the path of the woods, whirling to give Duo a furious look.

"Well, are you coming or not?!"

Treize sighed as he watched his son run after his daughter, desperately trying to keep track of her even as she ran ahead of him. He couldn't wait until the fall came and he would be sending Relena off to school. He was sure that the mansion would be peaceful with just Duo and himself. His stress level would be down, at the very least. He didn't even need to yell back to his son to keep Relena safe, he knew that he would. As much as Relena hated her brother, and Duo disliked her as well, they were still siblings and Duo wouldn't let anything happen to her, it was the other way around that bothered Treize as he walked back into the house.

The woods truly were beautiful in summer time. Every bush, every tree, every weed and flower was blooming and full and bright with life. It made it hard to reconcile the harshness of fall that had come and gone so many times in their lives and though that fear that Duo had for the forest was still there, he found himself overwhelmed with the beauty of it, too. Duo had always been a fast runner, though he was quite short, he was thin and his legs were long, so he could run fairly quickly, just not for a long time. At first, Relena had seemed set on trying to lose him in the thick matting of trees and thorn bushes, but her white shirt and bright blue skirt made tracking her just a little bit easier, even if she seemed a bit more agile than him. He didn't bother calling to her to slow down, knowing the stubborn girl wouldn't listen. As if she knew the turmoil that he was in, she laughed gleefully as she run, closer and closer to the river. As Duo realized that, his heart raced in terror and he wanted to stop, his duty to his father and his sister the only thing that kept him chasing after her.

"Goddamit, Relena, stop!" he snarled, finally able to bolt forward as the trees thinned just a little and he managed to grab her arm. As she whirled to face him, he thought, for a brief moment, that she was going to bite him or hit him in the face, but she only glared at him with complete loathing.

"You can't tell me what to do!" she snarled. Duo clutched his quartz in his fist, contemplating the benefits of simply hitting her with it and dragging her back home. He didn't want to be out here. An hour had already passed and the threat of dark in only another hour set him on edge. Still, the thought of hurting Relena was so fleeting, it was gone in less than a second, as though he had never thought of it at all.

"Yes, I can," he growled out, his fear frustrating him, "Dad said you have to listen to me. We're too deep in, we have to head back. If Dad heard about you trying to lose me…"

Duo had no doubts that that was exactly what Relena had tried to do. He hadn't ventured into the woods for ten whole years, though he knew that his sister had snuck out here many times and knew that paths of the wood better than he ever could. If he lost her, he would truly be lost and she knew that. Relena laughed, shoving him away from her harshly.

"Why should I listen to a single word you say?" she hissed cruelly, her voice filled with malicious glee, "Why should Father trust you over me? You, who killed Mom?! If you hadn't been so _irresponsible_… if you had only remembered to close the gate to the goat pen, she wouldn't have been out that night! She wouldn't have been chasing the goats, she wouldn't have slipped and drowned in the river! Why should I listen to a murderer like you? How Father can stand the sight of you, I certainly don't know!" she shoved him again and Duo stumbled backwards. His violet eyes clouded over with a deep, agonizing pain, so sharp and powerful that he found it hard to breathe. He remembered so little of that night… He wasn't sure if it was the passage of time, or simply because thinking of it was too painful, but he couldn't remember closing the gate, couldn't remember much of that night at all. But… the facts spoke for themselves, didn't they? He and Hilde had often played with the goats and it wasn't unfeasible that he had forgotten to lock the gate. What he did remember of that night was practically nothing, but he remembered the next day. He remembered his father waking to find that his mother was not in bed with him and had called for a search party. He remembered their servants returning to the mansion with his mother's dead body, bloated and pale from water. He remembered him, Relena, and Hilde hiding outside the door to the living room, listening as his father was told that his wife had been found a mile from their house at the river bed, that it had been so muddy last night and she had probably slipped and fell into the river. He remembered one of the servants remarking that several of their goats were missing and that that had probably lured his mother to the woods that night. He remembered the look his father had given him when Relena had eventually spoken up later that day and told him that Duo had been the last one at the goat pen the previous day. Oh, yes, he remembered that look more clearly than anything else and he remembered the gut wrenching pain that look had caused him.

So, as cruel as Relena's comments were, they were true and he felt paralyzed with the power and emotion behind them. He had asked himself the very same things over and over again, how his father could find him so reliable, how his father could even look him in the eye, knowing that his son had killed his wife out of sheer carelessness. Mostly… he missed his mother and it was all his fault. He knew these things and it tore his insides up so badly, he barely noticed when his sister grabbed his quartz from his hand and ran off with it. He blinked out of his stupor as she left his sight. Though, in that moment, he hated her more than ever before, for making him feel so terrible, for stealing his beloved token from his dead mother, he felt overwhelmed by feelings of protection for her, to save her in the way he had been incapable of saving his mother.

"Relena!" he yelled and ran after her.

Duo tried to tell himself that it wasn't the fact that these very woods had claimed the life of his mother that set him so on edge, it was simply because it was so hard to get lost in them, the way the thick trunks of the trees kept you from seeing the path in front of you, or even the sun above your head, how the thorn bushes pulled at your clothes and hidden holes and rocks threatened to trip you up and snap your ankles. He tried to tell himself that he hadn't gone back into the woods since his mother's death because he had never needed to, because there were wild things out here and kids like him had no business in the forest, but these things were not entirely true. In less than ten minutes chasing after his sister, Duo had become hopelessly lost. He couldn't tell which way she had gone, or which way they had come from, and, even if he could still see the sky, which was slowly darkening, it was still too bright to see the stars, too bright to tell where north was. Off in the distance, he heard a long, deep howl. He couldn't tell if it was a dog, a coyote, or a wolf, but it sent a shiver down his spine. He quickly realized how pointless it was simply running around, not knowing where he was going, and sat down against a tree. A strong wind picked up and ruffled the various foliage and tree branches, making Duo shudder. He felt as though this forest knew it had taken one of his family before and was hungry for another. He knew, logically, that he only had to wait about a half an hour more before his father knew he and his sister had not come home yet and sent someone to come get them, but he was terrified. He was furious at Relena for making him feel this way at the same time he was scared for her. Despite his anger, he hoped that she knew the forest well enough to go back on her own. He rubbed the palms of his hands against his eyes, feeling the sudden, childish urge to start crying, but he didn't dare show the wilderness he was now trapped in any weakness.

'Dad will find me,' Duo thought miserably, 'He'll find me…' but all he could think of was that howl and how very alone and scared he felt, deep in his heart.

Relena smirked to herself as she looked back and realized that she had shaken Duo off of her trail. It hadn't been that hard, honestly, though Duo was quite quick, he didn't know this forest like she did, scared like the little boy that he was of it. It served him right. She hoped that he was quaking and crying for his 'Daddy' to rescue him. Who did he think he was, treating her like a little kid? They were three years apart, for Christ's sake! She didn't feel bad for leaving him alone or those things she had said to him. It had been the truth, she just didn't understand how their father could look up to Duo so much, knowing what he had done all those years ago! She tossed the ball of quartz high up in the air, catching it deftly. It was truly a beautiful thing, and her little brother certainly didn't deserve it. Before Duo had been born, and before he had become a toddler, she had been her father's little princess and she had reveled in the attention her parents had given her. But then Duo had gotten older and they had seen something in him that had stolen all of their attention away from her. Just what was so special about him anyway?! He was quiet and meek and a suck-up know-it-all! There were a lot of things she disliked in life, slimy things, snakes, frogs, cold baths, cottage cheese, but she didn't hate anything so much as she hated her little brother. She tossed the ball again, a cruel smile crossing her face. She took great pleasure in making the little brat miserable and what would make him more miserable than losing his precious treasure?

As she walked, eventually the heavy tree line melted away into a clearing and she could see the river. On a whim, or rather an emotional impulse, she threw her hand back and let the ball of quartz go with all of her strength. She almost wanted to laugh as she saw the shimmering thing arch out in the air, then fall into the river with a splash, so heavy that it only sank and didn't drift with the current. That would serve Duo right, she thought. If he loved it so much, he could dive in after it, and maybe the river would kill him like it had their mother and she would be free of him once and for all! The thought brought a dark smile on her face, though deep down she knew that she didn't have the bravery or courage to do such a thing. It wasn't because of any affection she had for her brother, it was simply an inability to face her father's wrath. It was that thought, the image of her father's face contorted with anger, and the sort of terrible punishment he would bestow upon her, that made her realize what she had just done. Normally, she would feel no fear at her actions, believing that nothing bad could possibly happen to her, but that ball had been _Duo's_, she thought with distaste, and if Duo told their father that she had stolen the ball and had lost it, he would be furious. It didn't help that their mother had given Duo the ball. If she came back empty handed… she shivered in fear. She couldn't go back without it! But… there was no way she was wading out in that freezing water, getting herself all dirty with mud and gunk! If only she could find a way to get it back without going into the water herself…

"Why so upset, little Miss?" a rough, deep voice almost seemed to boom from her behind her. Relena, so absorbed in her thoughts, had not heard the rustling of the bushes behind her as the man had walked into the clearing, had not heard him walk right up to her, so when she whirled at his voice, she was not only startled, but terrified.

Through her fear, the second thing that Relena felt when she took a look at what she deemed her 'attacker' was disgust. He was tall, about a foot taller than her, with stubble around his face, dirt on his skin, and torn, smelly clothes that made her nose wrinkle in distaste. He looked like a vagrant, in fact, she was quite sure that he was one. He carried nothing with him and Relena was sure that he had nothing, his boots looking like he had been walking in them for most of his life. He wasn't very old, about in his twenties, though his eyes seemed ancient and had dark circles under them. He was thin, not in a dying sort of way, but enough that it was clear that he gathered his own food. All of these things made Relena scared of the man, scared that he would try to rob her or rape her, perhaps even slit her throat when he was done, but what simply _terrified _her was the dangerous look in his piercing blue eyes and how his terribly messy, dark brown hair, which fell around his shoulders, gave him the look of a rogue wolf instead of a man. Her voice caught in her throat, her body torn between fight and flight. Of course, the idea of fighting the tightly muscled, tall man was ludicrous, still, she was slimmer and more agile than he was and could probably get away if he hadn't been directly in front of her. However, through her fear, a spark of intelligence shown through and she staid rooted in a thought of shrewdness. She was more than capable of crocodile tears, using her fear as a prod to herself, and let them slip down her pale, smooth cheeks.

"Oh, good sir, I've lost my favorite thing in the whole world, a ball of shimmering quartz! I was playing here by the river when I slipped and dropped it in the water! I can't go home without it! Will you help me?" Relena had to hide a grin as she begged. Yes, let this vagrant dive into the cold, cold water and search blindly for her brother's precious rock. He certainly wouldn't look any worse off than he already did! As soon as she got it back, she would rush home, and if her brother was truly lost and never showed up, she could blame it on this man! Hopefully, her brother would freeze tonight and no one would ever be the wiser! And, of course, any man would be glad to do something for free for a pretty, sweet girl like her.

Relena watched as the man's blue eyes became pensive, thinking over what she had said. Suddenly, the man smiled kindly at her and something in her heart warmed, though she couldn't figure out why, the man wasn't exactly handsome, not smelling and looking as he did.

"I would be glad to get your ball," he said softly and Relena beamed, "However, I am in need of a place to rest for a few days and a hot meal. I'll get your ball for you, but only if you promise to allow me to sleep in your home."

Relena's eyes narrowed slightly at the proposal. To think of this disgusting man in her beautiful home… it was laughable! Of course, he certainly didn't have to know that. Let him think he was getting a warm bed, as long as he gave her what she needed, she could lose him quite easily in the forest.

"Thank you so much, I would be glad to let you stay in my home!" she exclaimed, hoping that the man couldn't see her lie when inside she was crowing that she had been right about his homelessness and disgusted by it. The man smiled at her and extended his large, calloused hand to her.

"Then we have a deal. My name is Heero," he said. Relena stared at the hand and made no move to take it, rubbing her own on her skirt at the mere thought of touching his dirty skin.

"Relena," she said after a moment, contemplating whether she should lie about her name, but didn't see the point in it. Heero put his hand down, getting the message that she didn't want to shake hands with him.

"Well, Relena," he said as he approached the river, "Don't cry anymore. I'll get your ball."

With that, Relena watched as the stranger dove into the river, clothes and all. He disappeared under the current quickly and, as a minute went by, she was sure that he had been swept away. For a moment, she was glad, not wanting to deal with the dangerous looking vagrant, but she quickly remembered that he was her only hope at getting the ball back. She looked on in amazement as his dark head poked out of the waves and he swam back towards her, getting out of the water and shaking his head to free stubborn water from this thick, untamed bangs like a dog would. Clutched in his hand was the ball of quartz. With a gleeful look, Relena took the ball from him, but didn't spare him a moment's glance, her goal in sight. She turned on her heel and ran, as fast and hard as she could, into the thick trees.

"Wait!" she heard him call after her and laughed as she heard his heavy footsteps, knowing that his larger form would not be able to track her. Her suspicions were confirmed in mere minutes as she could no longer hear the man behind her. She paused and listened, but couldn't hear anything and grinned. She tossed the ball up in the air and, whistling happily, started to make her way back home.

Heero had watched, in shock, as the teenaged girl had fled, the pretty quartz in her hand, but now, he wondered how he could possibly be shocked at her behavior. He had been homeless for a very long time, hiding out in woods and killing animals, drinking from streams, just to survive. This wasn't the first time he had reached to someone and it wasn't the first time he had been betrayed. He had been foolish to run after her, her slim form able to dart between trees much more quickly than his and he had lost her within minutes. He sighed to himself. He was freezing, his wet close sticking to him, and he was hungry. Food had been scarce lately and he had lost a little weight. It had been stupid of him to think that the girl would let him into her home, few people did when they saw how he looked, but still… foolishly… he had hoped. At the very least, he had wished that she had been honest with him. He shook his head, trying to clear out more water, but just felt like a drowned rat. He would have to find something to eat, sooner or later, maybe an underfed rabbit or even a crow. He thought back on the girl with yearning. There was nothing sexual about his thoughts, he had never thought of women in such a way before, but that lure of a warm home and a hot meal had been powerful, gravitating, and now that it was gone, he felt so empty inside, until the anger had started to fill him. It had been a very, very long time since he had met a kind person, someone willing to help him, just because he needed it. He was quite sure that he would never find another person like that. He trudged through the trees, cursing as his arm caught on one of the thorn bushes and it scratched him. His anger didn't matter, what the girl had done didn't matter, he decided, he just needed to keep walking. That was the story of his life, to keep going, no matter what happened to him, no matter what he wanted.

Duo, even as a child, had always loved Robert Frost, but in this current instance, having 'the woods are lovely, dark, and deep' circling through his head over and over was more bitterly ironic than he cared to think of. He felt miserable, frozen in his place, sitting on the ground, his arms wrapped around his knees as he tried to bury his face in them, a task that at first had had him paranoid in case some animal tried to sneak up on him, but mostly, he was too scared to look around. He knew that he was being a big baby about his situation, but he couldn't help the fear, couldn't tame it no matter what lies he fed himself. He wanted to cry, very badly, but didn't want to give in to the weakness, didn't want to admit out loud just how scared and lost he was. Even if his father went looking for him, there was the very real possibility that he would never find him. Duo felt a tear slide down his cheek. There was a storm coming, too, and that feeling of uncertainty, of not knowing what to do, was tearing him up inside. He had known, from the very start, that this had not been a smart thing to do.

Duo's head shot up as he heard something, probably a branch or fallen twig, snap only a few feet away from him. He looked up just in time to see a man nearly climb out of the brambles and heavy bushes that surrounded Duo's spot. He stared wide eyed at him, unsure of what to do. He was frozen to the spot again, realizing that, if this man was dangerous, he had absolutely no weapons of any kind and the man was much bigger than him and Duo knew little of self defense. He was sure that if he screamed, even if, through some random luck, someone heard him, if they found him at all, he would be long dead.

Heero stumbled through the bushes, swearing under his breath as his clothes got caught in more thorns once more, but managed to free himself. He instinctively sensed that he was not alone, though the sun was quickly setting and it was getting darker. His blue eyes met with a young boy and he, too, froze in place, less out of fear and more out of awareness that the boy was terrified and ready to bolt. For a brief second, he looked as though he could not believe what he was seeing, but forced the emotion away. The boy was a pretty thing, though he had long hair, it was clear to Heero that he was a boy, his eyes a rich, strange color that seemed to draw him in. His clothes were well made and he was sure that he belonged to the same family as that girl, Relena, but there was something in those eyes that made Heero's anger melt away. He found himself wanting to ease the boy, who was obviously even more upset than the girl had been. Heero was smart enough to see why, a teenaged boy, crying in a dark wood, the poor thing was probably lost and not as knowing as the girl. He raised his hands in a symbol of peace, showing that he had no weapons in them, though he supposed that the boy, if he wasn't an idiot, understood that Heero could strangle him quite easily if he wanted to.

"I'm sorry to startle you," he apologized and felt gifted when the terrified look in the longhaired boy's eyes started to abate a little, "I mean you no harm. What is the matter? Why are you crying?" Heero felt a second's foolishness at reaching out to the boy. He had been worried when he had stumbled on the girl, also crying, and had tried to soothe her, only to be shunned for all his troubles. However, this boy seemed to settle a little and looked at him, not with disgust or contempt, but curiosity and hope.

"I'm lost," Duo said in a small voice. Heero instantly felt… softened by the admission and the look in the boy's eyes. He was truly frightened, not the anxiety he had seen in Relena, but actual terror. Heero found that he simply did not have the ability to leave the child out in the dark woods, for any reason, and approached him like he would a timid fox, not wanting to scare him any further. However, the boy didn't seem so scared of him anymore, he instead seemed more preoccupied with the woods around them, as though he thought some terrible monster was going to leap out and slaughter the two of them. Though he was cold, wet, and very, very hungry, that look in the boy's eyes, absolute terror, only tempered by a very real attempt at being brave, seemed to make his own problems so very small. It had been a very long time since Heero had been afraid of anything. He had hunted every creature in these woods, from large buck to feral wolf, and had survived so far. Heero sat on the ground near Duo, not too close to startle him or make him feel uncomfortable, trying to make himself smaller so the boy didn't think that he really was some terrible person that was going to hurt him.

Duo watched the man carefully as he sat down on the ground with him, but it wasn't out of any fear of him, rather, he was trying to figure him out. So far from town, deep in the woods, it was shocking to him that anyone could possibly be here. He looked ragged and worn, but there was a handsome quality to his features, even if he could do with a proper shower, and his eyes were kind, certainly not the eyes of a murderer. Duo blushed slightly as he tried to figure out what it was, exactly, that had made him think of the stranger as handsome, but couldn't quite place it. He had never thought of his own sexuality before, how could he? He wasn't that old and his world was centered around his family, television, and movies. He had no real friends, no one that he could look at and think 'that is a person I could fall for'. He spent more time with the family animals and occasional rabbits that ended up on their property than with anyone close to his age. But, this man… there was something about him that made him feel oddly warm inside. It wasn't the sort of untamed heat that he had read about in books, it was more like a single spark that had piqued his curiosity. His eyes widened as he took in the man's incredibly messy, damp hair and his wet clothes.

"Who are you?" he suddenly blurted out, snapping his mouth shut just as quickly as he had spoken, his instilled manners telling him how rude he was being. However, the man didn't seem the least bit offended and chuckled at the question.

"My name is Heero," the man offered, "I live in the woods here."

Duo's interest lessened his fear. It had been a very, very long time since he had seen a new face, let alone someone that actually showed an interest in talking to him like an individual and not a child.

"Duo," he returned the favor, "I was out playing with my sister, but now I can't find the path back home."

Heero smiled kindly at the explanation. It was easy to see how the boy could have gotten lost, the woods were big and confusing, especially to someone who hadn't gone into them very often.

"Why are your clothes wet?" Duo asked curiously.

"I took a swim," Heero responded good naturedly. He was surprised that the boy wasn't trying to get away with him. He wasn't used to people talking to him so freely. He was even more surprised when Duo looked at him with a worried expression.

"But you must be cold! A storm's coming and it'll probably rain soon. You'll get sick."

Heero stifled a chuckle. This 'Duo' was a strange boy, acting so adult-like, practically scolding him for childish behavior. If anyone else had done so, he would have been annoyed, but, somehow, when Duo did it, it seemed charming. Duo looked down at his own clothes mournfully.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, "I don't have anything warm to give you."

Heero's heart, having grown cold and stiff after years of taking care of himself, warmed at the boy's concern.

"That's quite alright," he assured him, "It wouldn't do for me to steal warmth from you when it'll be cold soon. I've lived in these woods for many years and I think I can help you find your way back home. You must live in that mansion at the edge of the forest, it's the only place near here."

Duo, like a ray of sunshine through a slit in a black cloud, brightened the dark forest air with his sudden exuberant smile. He felt the remains of his fear completely vanished and struggled to contain the urge to hug the stranger.

"Thank you!" he cried, overwhelmed in his relief. Heero's smile grew, the boy's personality quite contagious, even to one as himself that was not used to smiling or being happy. Then, the boy's expression fell again and Heero felt the loss very strongly. He realized that he really didn't want him to be sad, for any reason, he was far too beautiful when he was smiling and far too devastating when he was in pain.

"But… I can't repay you," Duo said sadly, "I don't have anything to give you."

"You don't have to," Heero urged, "It is not a small thing. You are lost and if I left you out here alone, far from your family, I would not be able to forgive myself."

"But I must!" Duo insisted, "You don't have to help me and if I can't repay you for a simply kindness, I wouldn't be a very good person at all. Besides, I was scared and you helped me. I simply have to repay you for making me feel better! I don't have much, but my father is wealthy. He can pay you," Duo looked up at the cloudy sky with worry, "And, if you are escorting me back home, I must insist that you stay with us, at least for a few days. It will be a bad storm and your clothes are wet. We can feed you and give you shelter, unless you really don't want to," Duo hesitated. He found that he really wanted Heero to take him up on his offer. To have someone to talk to, to distract him from his older sister, that would be a wonderful thing, and he didn't think he would be able to sleep tonight knowing that the kind stranger was braving the storm in the dark woods.

Heero's deep blue eyes widened at the teenagers words. What he was offering was what he had wanted from Relena, only, it was even more, since Duo was offering that his father pay him. Of course, money was of little use to a man like him, but the gesture alone made him feel lighter. And the boy was offering it so freely, without a second thought. Heero had not seen that sort of kindness in any point of his life. It was refreshing and made the boy seem all the more beautiful. Also, he could see the need in the boy's eyes, the need for a friend and the need to help someone that needed it. Those things were very powerful. Heero was not a stranger to deep loneliness, he had been Duo's age the last time he had had a friend, but he was long gone now. Still, there was that cynical, jaded part of himself that had allowed him to survive for so long that was now telling him that the boy couldn't be trusted. Relena was obviously this boy's sister and she had made him promises, too, only to abandon him the second his part of the bargain was fulfilled. Would this boy do the same thing, fleeing the second he was shown the right path? He did not want to believe that, he could not believe such a mature, soft spoken person could be that sort of terrible person, but he was still unsure. However, Duo had been the one to offer it, not Heero. Why would he offer if he did not intend to see it through? Besides, Heero told himself, it didn't matter if Duo kept his promise, he would not leave him out here, in the dark, all alone, especially remembering how terrified he had been. He would show the child back to his home, regardless of the reward.

"Alright," Heero agreed, "But I would have showed you the way back, no matter the reward. I would be grateful if I could spend a few days at your home, but only if your father allows me. I don't want you to feel bad if he doesn't."

Duo fought the urge to blush again at Heero's assurances. Though his parents had always taught him the right thing to do, being with Relena had also showed him that many people would not do anything unless they got something out of it. He was glad that this man was not at all like his sister. Despite being complete strangers, he was willing to help him and Duo felt that what he could offer him was so little in comparison.

It quickly became dark and as the two of them walked side by side, Duo realized just how tall and imposing Heero really was. It was odd, he thought, but he felt at ease with him, as though he trusted him not to hurt him. It was silly, since, in reality, he knew nothing about the man that was showing him the way back home, but he truly didn't feel threatened, whether because of his actions or that kind look in his beautiful eyes, Duo wasn't sure. The more logical part of himself, that part that tried not to be influenced by acts of kindness or attractive eyes, told him that Heero could be leading him off to his death and he would never know. But, that didn't really make sense, when he thought about it. Heero could kill him right now and no one would ever know, unless he was of the sort that liked to play games, and as much as Duo's head told him that this was very possible, his heart refused to believe it. It was a childish urge, he supposed, to want to think the best of a new friend, simply because he was lonely and wanted someone to talk to. Though, on the way back, the two didn't talk very much. Heero was concentrating on the paths and Duo was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of shyness. It had been so long since he had had to talk to anyone that wasn't a part of his family and was scared of making a fool of himself to this man that he wanted very much to like him.

So emerged in his thoughts, it was a great surprise to Duo when the thick trees parted and he could see his house peaking through them. He managed to shock both himself and Heero when he hugged him tightly in his gratitude.

"Thank you," he breathed in a small voice, "Thank you so much for helping me!"

Some part of Heero wanted to return the younger boy's hug, but in that moment and pleasant shock, he didn't have it in him. He was overwhelmed by the gesture, even if it had only been a spur of the moment move in a moment of elation. When was the last time he had felt the touch of another human? He couldn't remember, years he was positive. The boy was warm, he could feel that through his cold clothing, and his body threatened to shake with it, wanting to swallow up that warmth and feel it, deep inside. When he was released, he realized that he could still feel the boy's body heat, even though he had moved away from him, as though the mere memory of it had made it real. To his further shock, in an act that Heero thought would cause his heart to explode inside of him, the boy did not run off towards the house, but staid next to him, searching his face, his violet eyes bright with excitement.

"Well? Are you coming?" Duo prodded, seeing the man's frozen posture and suddenly feeling scared that he wouldn't come into the house with him. Had he done something wrong in hugging him? He supposed it was a childish thing, especially for a boy, but it had been the only way he could think of showing how grateful he was. He was usually very eloquent, but his words failed him around Heero, who seemed a little awkward, something that Duo wasn't used to and wasn't sure if his words were good enough.

Heero thought his heart would surely stop in shock as he realized that the boy truly did mean to keep his promise, leading him to the front door. No terse words were exchanged, no excuses as to why the promise had to be broken, only an open, warm look on the teenagers face as he struggled to keep Heero moving towards the door. Eventually, Heero realized that he wasn't going to be put out or betrayed and he followed Duo up the front, large steps and to the beautifully crafted door of the mansion. Around them, the wind had picked up and tossed their hair with abandon. This made little difference to Heero's, but seeing the boy's tossed bangs made the blue eyed man's heart hurt as he looked at him. There was something very… ethereal about it, a far cry from the hair of a wild dog or rabbit that he was used to, or even his own thick, dark hair. His newly made friend opened the door and ushered him inside, more like a treasured guest than a stray dog that Heero felt like. The inside of the large home was pleasantly warm, but startlingly so for Heero. He hadn't felt that sort of warmth since his early teenaged years, the only sources of warmth in the forest being a rare fire or the heat of summer. Through all of this, Duo acted as though what he had done was the most natural thing in the world, while Heero felt like his world had been shook off of its axis.

"Very few people have every given me anything so freely before," Heero remarked as Duo led him down the hallway. Duo turned to look at him with a strange, sad expression.

"Why?" he asked. Heero couldn't help but smile at the boy's naiveté. It was obvious to him that Duo had led a rather sheltered life. It wasn't through any fault of his own, but obviously, he had spent most of his life in this house, in the loneliness of the woods and hadn't had a lot of contact with other people. It explained a little bit for Heero, why Duo seemed so excited that he hadn't refused to come here with him.

"Not everyone in the world wishes to repay others for their help. Most people will only do something if there is some great benefit in it," he told him. Duo frowned.

"But, you helped me when I really needed it. If it weren't for you, I'd still be stuck in those woods. I was so scared that my father would never find me and that I would be lost forever, but you helped me without asking for anything in return! My parents raised me to believe that we should always do the right thing. You did me a true favor, so I should give you something in return, also because you need it. I must be hard, living on your own. Is it wrong that I try to help you?" Duo asked, once again feeling as though he had done something wrong. Was his trying to help Heero implying that he couldn't do it himself and therefore rude? He hadn't meant to be, but the sight of Heero, cold and hungry, had been painful to him. He had the means to help him, so wasn't that his responsibility? To his great relief, Heero didn't act defended by this at all and smiled at him.

"No, it isn't wrong, but few people see the world that way," Heero said mournfully, "You aren't the first person that has promised me a place to stay, but you are the first to have offered it and one of the few that has kept a promise to me."

"That's terrible," Duo said sadly, "If you aren't going to do something, why bother making the promise at all."

"Duo, what are you doing bringing that man into our home?!"

Relena's shrill cry made both boys stiffen, Heero narrowing his cobalt-colored eyes at the familiar girl. She stood by the door to the kitchen with her hands on her hips, looking furious and not the bit ashamed at seeing Heero there. In fact, she didn't seem to notice his presence at all, simply glaring her little brother down as though her look could cow him into submission. Heero thought for a minute that it would, feeling another spark of anger at the girl for trying to control her brother. However, Duo didn't waver, merely glaring back at her. Relena realized that the tactic wasn't working, but her gaze was still icily furious.

"That man is dangerous! How dare you let him in here! Dad will be so angry at you!" there was a malicious gleam in Relena's eyes as she said this, just at the thought of getting her brother in trouble. She was shocked to see Heero and wondered how he and Duo had found each other and how Duo had found his way back home. She wasn't worried that Heero would tell on her. Who would trust a vagrant over her, anyway?

"He isn't dangerous," Duo protested, "He helped me find my way back home after _you _got me lost."

Relena laughed, whether disdainful over Duo's remarks that she was more dangerous than Heero or to simply cover over her guilt in the whole situation, only she knew.

"That… man is completely untrustworthy! He lives in the woods, for Christ's sake! He's nothing more than a two timing vagrant and anything he says is a lie!" Duo caught a tinge of fear in her voice and pounced on it like a tiger with a wounded deer.

"If he's so untrustworthy, than why did he help me? If he had wanted to hurt me, why not just do it out in the woods where no one could find me?! As far as I'm concerned, he's more trustworthy than you are! At least he didn't leave me out in the middle of a bloody storm, completely lost and alone!" Duo snapped angrily, his hands curled into fists. Heero watched him with a sense of respect. The boy was a bit shorter than his sister, but she flinched away from him like he was a wild animal that had come to snarl at her. He put a comforting hand on Duo's shoulder and Relena's light blue eyes widened in confusion when Duo didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable with his presence.

"You still owe me, Relena," he said coldly, "You ran off before you could fulfill your promise to me."

"What promise was that?" Treize asked, standing behind Relena suddenly, having heard shouting from the kitchen, but not understanding what his children were yelling at each other about. At first, he had been shocked to see a stranger in his house, but his son seemed to accept him, so he temporarily let it go, wanting to know what this was all about.

Relena whirled and looked at her father in shock. He saw a fraction of guilt in her expression, though she tried to cover it up, she was his child and he was used to seeing such things.

"Dad," she stumbled to find some excuse, some way to brush off Heero's words as a lie, or misunderstanding, but Duo's inexplicable trust in the homeless man complicated things greatly.

"What promise?" Treize pressed. Heero's eyes widened as he saw Treize, that same shock and desire to do or say something that he had had when he had seen Duo, but once again, it passed quickly. He realized that Relena was never going to respond and sighed.

"She needed me to get something from her," he tried to explain, "She promised that, if I got it, she would allow me to stay in this house for a few days. However, once I gave it to her, she fled. Shortly after that, I found Duo in the woods. He was lost and promised me, if I could help him get home, he would let me stay, at least until the storm is over," Heero gave Relena a cold look, "Unlike your daughter, Duo kept his promise. Even if you say that I can't stay, at least he tried and I have no more debt with him."

Duo bit his lip, hoping that his father would say yes. Even if Heero said that he had repaid his debt just by trying, that wasn't good enough for him. The cold look that Heero had given his sister was nothing compared to the look that their father was giving her now.

"Relena," the older man practically hissed, "I am ashamed of you!"

Relena had the good sense to look chastised, but didn't dare to look away from her angry father.

"This man helped you and you ran away! This is not the way your mother and I taught you to behave!" Treize sighed heavily, suddenly feeling very weary and ran a hand through his short hair, "Why can't you be more like your brother? At least he followed through on a promise. If you were unwilling to keep your promise, you should not have asked this man to help you!"

Relena bristled at the comparison to her younger brother.

"But… he just came out of the woods and he scared me! What kind of… pervert approaches a young girl anyway?" she stuck up her nose at Heero, whose eyes widened at the insinuation that he would have raped her.

"Then why did you ask for Heero's help?" Duo yelled at her, shocking his father, "If you were so scared of him, why didn't you run away?! It's not like he asked to take you somewhere! Asking for shelter isn't that unreasonable! You could have brought him here and told Dad about it, who could have called the cops if you were so damned frightened! Instead, you slunk off and left him behind! I wasn't with you at the time, did you even think that this 'dangerous man' might hurt me?"

It wasn't often that Duo stood up to his big sister. Mostly, he didn't see the point in it, but her remarks about Heero enraged him. It was true, when he had first seen the impressive man, he had been frightened, but what Relena was saying wasn't the truth and she knew it. She was only using how Heero looked to get her way, and to get out of trouble. Treize realized that, too. He was shocked at Duo's anger towards his sister, but saw that Duo was making a lot more sense. The man, Heero, did look dangerous, but he had helped his son where Relena had not, had helped his daughter, too. Relena had told him when she had arrived that Duo had gotten lost, and for a moment, he wondered if she had left him on purpose, but really didn't want to think that of his daughter, even if he could see her doing it.

Relena opened her mouth to protest all of this, but her father seemed to dismiss her and approached Heero, which only made her rage skyrocket even more. Heero's shock at Treize's appearance and actions returned when the man, even taller than him, reached his hand out to shake. Not exactly sure what to do, Heero returned it, not really knowing what he was shaking for.

"Thank you for bringing my son back safely," Treize said, his deep voice shaking with raw emotion that he didn't even try to repress. Heero's eyes widened further, not expecting the sort of powerful gratitude he saw in the other man's eyes.

"It wasn't any trouble," he confessed, "I know those woods well and I knew where your home was. Besides, I couldn't have just walked away."

"I want to apologize for my daughter's behavior," Treize said, barely casting Relena another glance, "It was very rude what she did to you. Regardless of any promises either of my children made to you, you helped both of them and I would be honored to have you stay, for as long as you need. We are not wanting for food or shelter and my children have very few anywhere near their age to talk to. It can get quite… lonely out here. Having you stay with us is no trouble. I just ask that if you need anything, you talk to me."

Heero found himself smiling at Treize's words. He had been doing that a lot in the last hour… smiling. It seemed like forever that he had done so and truly meant it.

"I cannot deny that what your daughter did was a betrayal," Heero pointed out, "However, I don't wish to punish her. I would like to know her better, your son as well. If I could be so bold, could I sleep in the room next to hers? It's been awhile since I've been with people and it would be… a comfort."

Relena stared at the strange man incredulously. How dare he suggest that he sleep near her?! The thought was disgusting at the same time that it shocked her, she couldn't figure out why he would ask such a thing. She expected her father to give out some sort of outcry that he would want to sleep near her for some perverted reason, but to her frustration, Treize only smiled at Heero.

"That's fine. There are two bedrooms in between Duo's and Relena's, you can have one of those. You can take a hot shower and get out of those clothes, I'm sure I can find some to fit you. But first, I'm sure you're hungry and dinner is ready," Treize turned and led them into the dinning room. Heero followed, still a little unsure of himself, but Duo stood by his side, silently leading him, as his sister glared daggers at Heero's back.


	2. Chapter 2

The Frog Prince

Author's Notes: This is rolling along nicely and it's actually kind of fun to write. I was just shocked at how many people signed up for updates and reviewed, since this isn't the typical thing that I write. Oh, yeah, and expect an update on The Road to Kindness pretty soon.

Part 2

With the size of the house, Heero was pleasantly surprised to find the dinning room to be not all that big, the table only meant to seat about five or six, and the place made with more warm mahogany and plush carpets than cold marble or granite, or fixtures of pure gold everywhere you looked. They were fairly close to the kitchen and he could smell the pleasant scents of warm bread and cooked meats practically through the walls. He told himself that he was just hungry, that was what made those smells so powerful, but there was a deeper part of himself that knew it was really because this was the first time he had eaten with another person in a long while, and as hungry as his stomach was, his heart was even worse off, making everything vivid and strong. He watched Duo for any clues for what to do. He had not been in the company of a high-class family… for a very long time. However, the sort of rituals that likewise families partook in, this family seemed to ignore. They ate like any other family, the children simply sitting down as their father brought in the food, roast chicken with potatoes and various vegetables. Heero sat next to Duo, not sparing Relena another glance, even as he could feel her disgusted gaze on him as he sat at the table with the rest of her family. Duo shot him an unintentional, relieved look and Heero saw a spark of fear in his endless violet eyes. He realized that, as happy as he was to have been welcomed into this home, to have someplace warm and a home-cooked meal, Duo was even more relieved that he was staying. He wondered, not for the first time, just how the longhaired boy had lived his life, if he was so lonely that he was so desperate for a stranger's company. No one should live that way. Though, he supposed that he couldn't really talk. After all, hadn't his need for human contact, beyond the food and the shelter, been the one driving thing that had made him seek this place out? Living in the woods all by himself, struggling to survive day by day out in the cold wilderness, he had nearly gone mad with the need to talk to another human, to the point that, here he was, finally surrounded by people, and he felt so awkward, he didn't know what to do. He was used to being lonely, but the thought of Duo being the same way felt so painful for some reason. He didn't want the boy to be sad. He remembered the sound of him crying, and the sight of his smile. He just wanted him to smile like that again and he was glad that his presence could bring some sort of comfort, even if he felt lost, himself.

It was Duo's sister, grudgingly walking towards their side of the table that took his attention away from Duo. Heero had missed what had transpired only seconds earlier, too lost in his thoughts and watching the emotions on Duo's face to notice, but Duo had. Relena was still in her blue skirt and white top, though, somehow, she had come through the woods looking as perfect as she had entering it, Duo thought mournfully of his own ruffled braid from all the running he had done. They usually sat on opposite sides of each other at the table, facing one another, though they never spoke or exchanged so much as a glance as they ate, with their father at the head of the table, like the referee he often was between them. He had watched as Relena had attempted to return to her usual seat. He knew it wasn't because it was 'her' seat, he could see the disgust in her eyes as clear as day. She didn't care that Heero was kind and lonely, like he did, she only cared about how he looked, lived, and smelled and had attempted to take her usual seat to avoid being near him. It was probably petty, but he wanted to smirk at her when their father made a stern noise at her and she stomped over to their side of the table. Of course, that feeling quickly faded once he realized that this meant he would have to deal with Relena's attitude through the whole dinner. His only consolation was that Heero was more friendly with him than her and acted like he wanted to avoid her as much as Duo did.

Relena pushed her vegetables around with her fork. There was no way she was going to eat with that animal sitting next to her, she decided. It wasn't a conscious decision, she was just so disgusted that her appetite left her. It was ludicrous, why they had to give shelter to the vagrant, why he had to dirty their table and eat their food, but even she knew there was nothing she could do about it. It seemed apt that Duo would be the one to befriend the man, he always did have an affinity for wild beasts, she just couldn't see how he could sit there and eat like it was a normal day, like their home hadn't been invaded. She couldn't believe that their father was actually letting the man stay! If this continued, she would end up starving to death! Then wouldn't her father see! That would teach him that mongrels stayed outside with the other mongrels, not with people like them! She stabbed at her chicken viciously, imagining that it was Duo or Heero that she was piercing with the piece of cutlery. Too bad it didn't scream or bleed to keep up that illusion. Duo would make the easier target, anyway, as much as she hated Heero, he could overpower her too easily.

Duo glanced over at Relena, frowning when he realized that she really wasn't eating anything. Was she proud, so stubborn, so… spoiled that not getting her way would prompt her to not eat? Did she honestly think that she was punishing anyone but herself by doing it? He wanted to think 'good riddance', but that part of him that loved her, simply because she was his sister, wanted to prod her to eat, was worried about her reaction to his new friend. But that thought only prodded himself to think of Heero and found that his attention was easily diverted to the man. He still wasn't sure why, if he was really that lonely, or if it was something else, but he had never felt so happy, knowing that Heero was going to be staying with them. Yes, he was that lonely. He wanted someone to talk to, to tell his fears and dreams and thoughts to, even if it was a perfect stranger. He certainly couldn't talk to his family about them, his father who secretly hated him for what had happened all those years ago, his sister who hated him just for breathing… and Heero _was _kind. In the short hours that they had met, he had been more attentive, more patient and caring, than anyone he had met. When he looked in Heero's pretty blue eyes, he could see that same loneliness and he knew that it wasn't just a reflection of himself. It made him want to help the strange man, to learn all he could about him and hope that they could help each other. Even if he knew he didn't deserve to feel that sort of happiness, he still yearned to feel it. He wondered why Heero had been living in the woods. Did he have anyone to take care of him? Probably not. As bad as he felt, as lonely as he was, Duo still had a roof over his head and he still had his father, who was never cruel to him. He couldn't imagine living in those woods… of course, it was probably easier for someone who wasn't as scared as he was of them.

The chicken was practically heavenly and it took all of Heero's memories of proper manners not to inhale the food. Living in the woods, things like vegetables and spices weren't exactly easy to come by so, honestly, he didn't know what was better, the perfectly cooked chicken with its tender flesh and hearty taste, or the simple, crisp greens it had been served with. Everything was fresh and well-made. The only unpleasant thing was that he had not ingested this much food in many, many years, only being able to catch, kill, and gather small bits of food at a time, so his stomach clenched and fluttered as he ate, telling him that, like any muscle, it wasn't used to this sort of activity, but the taste alone made it impossible for him to care about a stomachache. If he was being rude with how quickly he was eating, or that he had to get seconds in mere minutes, Duo and Treize didn't show any disgust about it. With Relena it was hard to tell, since he had met her, she had always appeared disgusted. It was amusing, actually, how dramatic and sensitive the girl was. It was odd, her attitude towards him didn't bother him nearly as much as when she turned that disgust towards her little brother. He thought that she should at least respect him because they were siblings, but it was more than that. He didn't want to see anyone treating the longhaired boy that way.

"So, Heero," Treize's deep voice penetrated the quiet and Heero's darker blue eyes met his, "How long have you been living in our woods?"

Heero blushed at the insinuation that he had invaded Treize's property and, really, he had. He should have felt bad about trespassing, even though the woods were large, he had right to be here. Even if he had gotten permission, he would have no right to be here, but he had been desperate for some place to hide and the dark woods had been so perfect.

"I've been here for ten years," he confessed. Duo and Relena looked at him with wide eyes while their father just stared at Heero, taking it in stride.

"How have you been living?" Treize pressed, ignoring the obvious question of _why. _Heero smiled softly.

"I'm a decent hunter and the woods are filled with enough water, berries, and wild animals to keep anyone alive, if they only know what they are doing," he said.

"And do you know what you're doing?" Duo asked. If anyone else had asked him that, Heero would have thought that they were baiting him, but Duo had a genuine worry to his tone. Heero nodded to him.

"When I was young, younger than you, my father taught me how to hunt and take care of myself," Heero's voice became sad at the mention of his father. Duo picked up the tone easily and bit his lip, wanting to ask where his father was and why he was living all alone, but didn't want to talk about things that might upset his new friend.

"Then where is he?" Relena blurted out, voicing Duo's thoughts, "Why are you _here _instead of with your family?"

Duo was instantly glad that he hadn't asked as a very dark, depressed look came into Heero's eyes.

"My family is no longer able to care for me and I am unwanted in my home," the blue-eyed man said bitterly, "I'm alone. I did not mean to trespass," Heero apologized. Treize shook his head.

"It's fine. No harm done," he assured their guest, "But how have you managed to stay hidden for so long? My late wife often went into the woods for walks and picnics, but she never told me of seeing another person out there."

Heero looked away from Treize quickly, hiding his expression.

"Those woods are very large," he pointed out, "I never stayed in one area for very long. Even an experienced camper would have found it hard to spot me."

Treize nodded in understanding.

"Perhaps you can take my children with you on a hike one day? I often find it hard to pull away from my work to spend time with them, unfortunately, and I hate having them running around in those woods on their own," Treize glanced at Duo, who blushed at the attention, "Today just proves that. Though Relena knows the woods fairly well, Duo rarely goes in them."

Duo brightened at the insinuation that Heero might spend more than just a few days with them. Yes, the woods terrified him, but Heero knew them better than even Relena did and he would protect him. Oddly, the thought of Heero being with him made his lingering fear abate. He trusted the man, why, he did not know, but he did trust him enough to make him safe in those woods. He loved nature, if it weren't for his fear, he would go into the woods more often than Relena did. It was ironic, it was his memories of his mother and his fear of getting lost that kept from finding his way through the forest the few times he did venture into it.

"C-could you?" Duo asked Heero nervously, afraid of being rejected. He couldn't figure it out for the life of him, how the stranger could make him feel so edgy and relaxed at the same time, and why Heero's opinion of him was so important. He blushed darkly as Heero patted his hand.

"I would like to," the man said, blushing a little himself at the feeling of human contact, amazed that he had even initiated it, but there was something about Duo that made touching easy. Relena watched the exchange with a pinched look, not wanting Heero to accompany her into the woods any more than she had wanted him in her house. Why couldn't he just go away?!

They finished the rest of their dinner in a companionable silence while Relena brooded and Duo thought, excitedly, about hikes and new friends. Treize watched his son carefully, wanting to cry in relief as true happiness blossomed in Duo's eyes for the first time since his Noin had died. He had told Heero that he was allowed to live with them because he had saved his son, but now, he would have allowed it anyway, just to see that look on Duo's face again.

*****

It was useless, Relena realized after rolling over to her other side for what felt like the hundredth time. There should be no problem. Her bedroom was the right temperature, the shades were closed, her door locked, and her sheets were perfectly soft and cozy, but she just couldn't fall asleep and she had been trying for hours now. She knew why sleep was eluding her so soundly. It was all Heero's fault. Though he wasn't in sight, the knowledge that he was in the room next to hers made her feel restless. She had meant what she had said to her brother earlier that day, she didn't trust the man, and she certainly didn't like knowing that his dirty self was sleeping in one of their expensive beds! She had no idea how he had won over her father and brother so quickly, but it was quite annoying. At least he hadn't told the complete truth about their meeting. She rolled over again, looking at the ball of quartz that was sitting, brazenly, on her bedside table and smiled lazily. She didn't care how much her brother begged, she wasn't going to give back his pretty plaything. She was doing him a favor, really. Boys shouldn't have pretty stones, it was simply inappropriate. It was time he grew up anyway. A frown came across her pretty features and she sighed deeply. As long as that strange man was in her house, she wouldn't be able to sleep or eat, she just knew it! He hadn't even taken a long shower before going to the guest room, it was just disgusting! It would take hours to get that smell of feral beasts and dead leaves out of the sheets. She hoped her brother was happy! It was because of him that she was suffering this way! She flicked on her bedside lamp and reached under her bed for the book she had been working her way through. If she was going to suffer from insomnia tonight, she would at least do something productive. She managed only five pages, however, before someone was knocking on her door. So immersed in her reading, she jumped and dropped the hardcover novel. She growled low in her throat, hating to be startled like that.

'Now what?!' she thought in exasperation. What if it was the wild man, come to rape her in her sleep, her mind supplied. Of course, that was silly since he wouldn't bother knocking if that was what he wanted, and she was quite sure that he lacked the guts to do so. With a snort of anger, she stomped over to her door, caring not about waking anyone else up since she was, obviously, still wide awake, and threw the door open.

*****

On most nights, Duo could use the soft chirping of crickets outside his window to lull himself to sleep. He had tried counting sheep and drinking warm milk and all sorts of sleeping remedies, but this one worked the best. It was for that reason, and that reason alone, that he hated winter. Winter had its charms, just as all seasons, and he liked the snow and the little foxes that he could see playing at the edge of the woods, he even enjoyed the cold because the cold brought warm blankets and hot chocolate, but winter also killed the crickets and he never slept soundly. He used to, when he was very, very small and he had still had two parents to tuck him in at night instead of just one. It was cruel to think it, but his mother had always been better at bedtime than his father, had always known the good stories and the best songs. Then, she had died and the nightmares had come. Well, in reality, it was the same dream over and over. He was standing in the woods, a small child, just like he had been then, looking into a large puddle of viscous-looking mud, watching in cold silence as his mother drowned in it, the mud seeming almost to be alive as it tried to swallow her while she screamed for him. Then, the mud would fill her eyes and she would start to sink. It was only then that he would come back to himself, instead of just smiling down at her cruelly. His tiny body would struggle with her, the mud clinging in huge tendrils like some sort of monster, hungry to feed, and by the time he managed to free her, she would be dead, cold as the mud itself, her eyes filthy and useless. There were variations over the years, some times there were wolves tearing her apart, some times it was the truth of the river and the fleeing goats, but that dream of the mud prevailed through his childhood. He still had these nightmares, but on nights when he could hear the crickets, they didn't leave him crying or screaming for his mother, just… empty inside. He didn't try to fight against these terrible dreams. His mother was dead, it was his fault. What was a little loss of sleep compared to the penance he still begged to befall him?

Tonight, however, it seemed that sleep would never come for him. For once, it wasn't his mother that overwhelmed his thoughts as he laid in his bed, in the dark, the room only illuminated by the moon outside his open window. Tonight, he thought of Heero. It was definitely an odd change for him, thinking of someone alive and kind and not more than a few feet away from him, instead of the dead, or dark things that haunted his nights without that melodic chirping of insects. Heero… he was so strange, but not in a bad way. He supposed that everyone in his life was a bit strange, especially himself, but it wasn't bad. He knew next to nothing about the man, but felt closer to him than he had ever felt with Relena, felt that he was able to talk to him about things he could never admit to his father or even Hilde. He looked rough and a bit scary, but he felt relaxed with him. Maybe it was the kind look in his beautiful blue eyes or how fragile the both of them were apart, but together they leaned and supported. He had learned that much in the less than a day he had known him. He just felt… stronger with Heero. His memories of his mother, or rather, or her death, were not as solid when he was there. He found that… he might actually live with himself when Heero was speaking to him. Wasn't that a form of friendship? Someone that could make the darkness just a little more bright? Heero did that, though how, Duo still couldn't figure out. It certainly helped that Heero was handsome. Not in the clean-cut way that his father was, but in a wild way, like in how a tiger was handsome, or a wolf. He wanted to find out if Heero's skin was as warm as his eyes were when they looked at him and he lacked the knowledge, the person societal experience, to decide if such a thing was wrong or not. He rolled over on his side and smiled at the bird cage near his bed that was covered with a sheet. He was sure that his finch was sleeping quite soundly. On nights like these, knowing that she was sleeping while he could not was, oddly, a comfort. He supposed their was someone in his life that he could talk to, though a bird could hardly hold him or tell him that things would be ok, even if he loved her to pieces. Sometimes, he could let her sweet song sing him to sleep, but it was too late tonight and she was probably long asleep.

When his mother had still been alive, they had had horses out in the stables. Now, they were empty, but he remembered the large animals, and he remembered their handler. He had been a man with a strong Italian accent and deep green eyes. Back then, he had never understood why the man would often disappear with their then cook for hours at a time, or why Relena had said that the man was 'gross', but he did now. He knew, from watching television, that not everyone in the world thought that men should be allowed to feel warm, intimate things for other men. But, he also knew that his father had respected their horse handler and cook a great deal and, surely, he had known about their forays in the woods, for every time they disappeared, his parents would share an amused look. Even so, thinking a man was handsome, and Heero was very handsome under his unkempt appearance, that didn't mean he was in love with him. After all, it was impossible to fall in love with someone after just one day, wasn't it? That would just be silly. He was just lonely, that was all, and he needed a friend. Despite not being able to sleep and getting lost in the woods, today had actually turned out really well, in relation to other days when he was stuck by himself with nothing more to do than read and… yearn. The only thing he wished had gone differently was Relena taking his quartz. He knew it was silly. He was fifteen years old and boys didn't carry around such things at his age, but he wanted it back. Relena had always coveted it, so it was probably with her. If Heero hadn't distracted him, he would have demanded it back by now. He wondered if that was why he couldn't sleep, because he knew it was missing from his bedside table. He was just so used to it shimmering in his darkened room that he felt strange, looking over there and seeing only an empty space.

*****

"What do _you _want?" Relena demanded, glaring at her little brother as he stood in her doorway with an intense, driven look in his violet eyes. He seldom got looks like that, but when he did, she knew he meant business. Still, she was too irritated with her lack of sleep to care about what he wanted. She cursed herself for turning the light on and letting him know that she was awake. Just what was he doing awake now, anyway? Even as Duo opened his mouth to answer, she was plotting ways of getting rid of him so she could go back to her fruitless attempts at sleep.

"I want my ball," Duo demanded. Relena blinked at him, her crystal blue eyes wide. Of all the things she had thought that he might want, that had not occurred to her. He usually just let things be, but she could see why he wouldn't let this go and she realized that, if she didn't think of something, he wasn't going to go away, and she certainly wasn't going to give the ball _back _to him. But, if she simply didn't answer him, or told him no, he would probably get their father involved, and that was definitely something she didn't want. She shifted subconsciously in the doorway, the quartz sitting plainly on her nightstand like a beacon in her mind, even if she knew that Duo wasn't able to see it beyond her blocking his view. This was all Heero's fault! She had begged his help so she wouldn't get in trouble. She had hoped that Duo wouldn't come back, and if he did, he would be too scared from his ordeal to tell their father about her stealing his ball. She had asked the vagrant for help with the intention of not getting in trouble, to just give the damn thing back to her brother to get out of her father's wrath, but the second Heero had given it back to her, she had realized that she would never give it back. Then, Heero had saved her brother and knew the truth… but he hadn't told anyone about it and she couldn't figure out why… She logically went through her options, her mind turning up possibilities in a matter of seconds. She could tell the truth and give the orb back, which her pride and the joy she felt about Duo losing his precious toy would never allow her to do, or she could tell the truth and not give the orb back, in which case it was highly likely Duo would go to their father and she would be in serious trouble and would have to give the orb back anyway. However, she thought, a sneer coming across her features, she still had one more option, she could just lie her way out of it. With a flick of her hand, she tossed her honey hair over her shoulder with an air of dismissal.

"You're too late," she said haughtily, "I smashed it the second I got the chance! You might find a few pieces of it if you go back into the woods tonight. Other than that, you're out of luck," Relena had to struggle not to laugh, especially when the color went out of Duo's face at the lie. However, she took a step back when a look of anger, instead of devastation, came over her brother and his hands curled up into tight fists. He was nearly shaking with fury and it was all directed at her. Never in her life had anyone looked at her like that, let alone _him. _She had expected him to cry, to go running back to his room, even to go whining to their father, but the look of rage on his face was completely unexpected. Her eyes looked down to those fists, suddenly afraid that he was going to hit her.

"Fuck you," Duo grit out, though harsher things, more hateful things, were on his tongue. He spun and stalked away from her as quickly as he could, worried that he really would hit her if he stayed there any longer. Relena hastily closed her door and locked it, shaking a little. Her eyes couldn't help but stray to the damned shimmering ball on her bedside table. That look in her brother's eyes… it was terrible to see because, for the first time in her life, Relena actually regretted her actions.

*****

He wouldn't cry… really… he wouldn't… he was fifteen years old, for fuck's sake, what would crying do? That was the only thing that was keeping him from going to his father, from telling him about what had really happened out in the woods. Telling him about Relena's actions wouldn't accomplish anything, it certainly wouldn't bring his ball back. It had been like that all of his life, Relena would do something terrible to him, but what was the fucking point of telling anyone? Angry, terrible thoughts buzzed in his head and just the thought of acting on any of them made him feel ill. He had wanted to strike his sister… just because she had destroyed something of his… No, that wasn't right… He had wanted to hit her because she had tried so hard to hurt him, and she had succeeded. He could tell himself that that ball was just a thing, it was so small compared to his sister, his flesh and blood, but in that moment, he cared more for it than he did for her. He could call it a simple object, but that was the truth.

Duo stormed down the hall to a large window that had a window seat below it and sat on it, curling up his legs and burrowing his face in his knees. He was so stupid… a cold stone could never replace the warmth and love his mother had given him, it could never replace the friendship he had found in his eldest sister, but, over the years, he had allowed it to do just that. He had replaced the good things, the loving things, with hard rock. Rock couldn't die, rock couldn't abandon you, rock couldn't move away or drown… it was always there, silent and beautiful, lovable, but unable to love him back, unable to hurt him. Yeah, he was stupid. He could feel hot tears on his cheeks. He was crying over a stupid ball of quartz, he was crying over losing the last thing his mother had given him, the last reminder that she had loved him, as well as a physical testament to his greatest sin. And… he hated himself. Losing that stupid ball was like killing his mother all over again. It had been a gift and he had lost it, just like he had lost her. The last thing that could comfort him… and his sister had smashed it to pieces. In the end, the things that he loved got smashed, but, somehow, he ended up intact, his heart got mangled, but he survived. He was so sick of it… he wanted his father to point his finger at him and scream 'murderer!' He wanted, for once, to not doubt the people that claimed to love him. He was just so tired of wondering if his father was secretly hating his existence behind his back, because, how could he not? If his father found out about the quartz, would he finally voice that hatred? He deserved it, to hear those words, it would almost be a balm on his soul, to finally hear his father's hatred. He was sick of love, sick of being so anxious over the warm emotions that he knew he didn't deserve, that he knew had to be fake. Who could possibly love him after all of the mistakes he had made? Love meant trust and respect, but he was just… broken, and completely incapable of being strong anymore. Back then… he had thought that his life was perfect, and he had been blindsided… he hadn't even seen it coming. For all he knew, no matter what he did now, he would just make those same mistakes, how could he feel anything but guilt, but anxiety, believing those things? And he had wanted to strike her… but that wasn't true. Relena didn't deserve his hate, especially when it wasn't really her that he wanted to hit.

Duo wiped at his eyes harshly, scrubbing at his warm tears. He just felt so tired… if he could only sleep for once… he shook his head, wanting to laugh at himself. He just needed to push it all back down. He had let his thoughts and emotions get the best of him again. He just needed to try harder, that was all. If he could just try to keep everything bottled up, then things would be better. He would make some chocolate milk for himself. It would settle his suddenly nervous stomach and sensitive nerves and he would feel better, he might even be able to sleep. He got to his feet and walked down the large, winding staircase, walking down them easily, even in the dark. He paused at the bottom, where there was a huge window, almost filling the entire wall, and silver moonlight shone through it, illuminating the hall like a brilliant lantern. Heero was standing by the window, looking out to where the lights of the town flickered through the tree line in the distance. There was an intense longing in his stare and the moonlight lit up his blue eyes, almost as though they were on fire. Looking at him, Duo felt his heart throb painfully for a brief moment.

"Heero?" Duo said hesitantly, his voice sounding small and soft in the large room. When Heero looked at him, the longing expression was still there and he didn't appear at all shocked by Duo's presence. Duo wondered if he could tell that he had been crying. He had caught him crying the first time they had met, but a second time would just be plain embarrassing.

"Why do you look so sad?" Duo heard his mouth ask before his brain could tell it that it was a very rude thing to ask. To his shock, Heero didn't snap at him, he simply gave him a soft smile. His hair was still very messy and he hadn't shaved, but he was quite as dirty as he had been earlier and at the sight of that smile, Duo felt that annoying throb, deep in his heart.

"You look sad, too," Heero said just as softly, feeling that same painful throb, "What's wrong?"

Duo blushed as he realized that, even if Heero couldn't tell that he had been crying, he was still incapable of keeping his emotions off his face. Hilde had always told him that he had expressive eyes and she had teased him that the reason why he was the favorite child was because their parents could always tell if he was lying or getting into trouble. It would be pointless lying to Heero about it, trying to brush his emotions off as being tired. And, really, he wanted to talk about the darkness, just for a little while. He wanted someone to tell him what a horrible person he was. But… that wasn't really true, was it? He didn't want Heero to hate him for what he had done, he wanted them to stay friends. But if Heero couldn't forgive him, basically a stranger, for it, how could his father and sister ever forgive him? Did he even want forgiveness? Did he want relief, or did he just want someone to hurt him so the pain he had caused the people that he loved wouldn't be so painful anymore? He sighed without even realizing it and sat on one of the steps. Heero joined him and Duo blushed darkly with the feeling of his warmth next to him. It was comforting though, in a way that his father couldn't comfort, in a way that his ball had never been able to comfort. A living, breathing person that cared for him, at least because Heero thought he was an honest person, but was far enough away from his family's dramas that, perhaps, he could actually give him some advice without being emotionally invested. Or, at the very least, he could listen to him without walking away in horror or disgust. He wrapped his arms around his knees and leaned forward slightly.

"My mom died when I was five," Duo murmured, "It was a month after my birthday. She had given me this pretty stone ball," he smiled fondly, but didn't linger on the thought. It didn't matter anyway, the ball was long gone. He stiffened for a brief moment as he felt Heero squeeze his shoulder, trying to offer him comfort, but he relaxed into it easily, though something deep inside of him shivered at the feeling of his warm hand on his thin shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Heero breathed and Duo realized that he really did sound sorry about it.

"It was a long time ago and I was so young, I don't have a lot of memories of her," Duo tried to brush it off, but wasn't that why he had decided to tell Heero about this, to talk about his feelings instead of downplaying them like he normally did? Heero's hand stayed on his shoulder and he couldn't deny that it felt good. He didn't want it to leave, he didn't want Heero to leave…

"That doesn't matter," Heero protested, "My mother died when I was seven and my father died ten years ago, but I'll always miss them. To me, it hurts just as much now as it did back then, I'm just better now with coping with that loss. It… it never goes away," Heero admitted softly, "When you're a kid, your parents are everything and it's so hard when they leave, whether by their own choice, or if they're stolen from you. I'm glad that you still have your father, at least he's helped you."

Duo rubbed his bare feet against the carpeted stairs nervously.

"I love my father, but… he has no reason to be here for me," Duo confessed with a dark tone, "It was all my fault, my mother's death… I killed her," he said and his voice was filled with such despair and self-hate that it made Heero feel ill, he wished he could do more to comfort the boy than just putting a hand on his shoulder, but he felt lost with knowing how to comfort someone. He hadn't had to do it for so long, it was too hard to remember how. He seriously didn't believe that Duo, especially at five years old, had killed his mother. It was impossible. But, Duo's fear and self-loathing was strong enough to make it real. Even if it was impossible, Duo believed it and he couldn't allow that.

"I was playing with the goats that day," Duo continued, his voice low and sounding tired, "We used to have all sorts of animals here, horses, goats, bunnies, we even had some sheep, but they died from a wolf when I was four. Mom loved animals, I think that was why we had them, even though this isn't a farm. I don't remember the sheep a lot, but I remember how distraught she was and all the blood in their pen. When she died…" Duo's breath hitched a little, he missed the animals, it was probably why he doted on Sally, the finch that Relena had tried to care for, but had been given to him, "We got rid of all of the animals, except for some koi fish that Dad let's me take care of, and a finch that my sister used to have. They were Mom's animals and… we just couldn't take care of them without her."

Duo swallowed roughly around all the things that he didn't want to say.

"They say that I left the pen open, and I must have. She left the house to chase after them in the woods. She went out all alone and it was muddy, so when she slipped in the river, there was no one to help her. She drowned and… they brought her body to the house the next morning," Duo's fingers dug into the loose fitting pajama bottoms that he wore, but it didn't hurt enough, so he continued to dig until he could feel his nails in his skin through the cloth, "It was all my fault. If I hadn't been so irresponsible, she'd still be alive," he whispered, almost to himself, "And now, my father and my sister hate me, because I murdered Mom. I'm sure my father does, even if he doesn't say it, even if he feeds me and wishes me good night, I'm sure that, inside, he's wishing that I had fallen into the river instead."

Duo didn't even realize that he had been sobbing as he told the story until Heero suddenly yanked him into his arms, folding him into his strong chest, as though his larger body could protect him from everything. Duo found that it was easier to cry with those kind arms around him. He didn't see the dark, devastated, and nearly indescribable look in Heero's blue eyes. They looked just as tortured as Duo's did and Heero had to force himself not to hug the boy too tightly. He felt like there was something nasty inside of him that was eating at his insides and he realized that he was crying, too, crying for the darkness that Duo felt, the secrecy, and for his own mistakes that he did not dare to share with the burdened teenager that so desperately needed his comfort. It seemed like hugging Duo was all that he could do, but, in the wake of Duo's pain, it seemed so easy.

"Don't say that!" Heero hissed, his voice thick with emotions, "Don't you ever say that! You think that your father would be happy if his baby boy had died instead of his wife?! You think that your mother would have ever forgiven your father for thinking such terrible things?! She would hate him for it! It's not your fault… it was an accident, that's all! It had nothing to do with you… you didn't murder her…" Heero almost gasped as he felt Duo wrap his arms around him and pull closer, their bodies pressed together, a deep warmth filling his chest at the feeling of the younger boy. He could feel Duo shaking and he knew that it wasn't from the cold. Had Duo lived these ten long years, with absolutely no one telling him that his mother's death hadn't been his fault? What was Treize thinking?! Did he honestly believe that Duo was to blame? No, that couldn't be right… Treize would never believe that, but even if Duo hadn't wanted to talk about it, even if they both had been in too much pain to speak of that night, he shouldn't have let Duo feel this way. It was too… wrong.

"Your mother loved you very much," Heero murmured, "You were the world to her. She could never blame you for anything and I'm sure that your father was the same way. They could never stop loving you, even if they wanted to. Don't listen to Relena's stories for a minute, don't you dare…"

Duo's head shot up from the cocoon of warmth and comfort that Heero had created to stare at him with wide eyes.

"How… how did you know that Relena told me those things?" he asked in shock. Heero found that it was very hard to look at him with his violet eyes tinged red and wet from tears. It was a look that the boy made heartbreaking.

"Your sister… isn't a very nice person," Heero responded carefully. He knew that Duo and Relena weren't close, but he might be offended by insulting his older sister, "I doubt any of your servants, or your father, would tell you what had happened, whether it was your fault or not."

Duo looked back down, biting his lip. Heero was right. Even if his father hated him, he hadn't been the one to tell him those things. He had heard, when their servants had been bringing in his mother's body, that she had probably slipped and fell in the water chasing goats, since the animals were wild in the forest and she had been found in the bay of the river. But, it had been Relena who had pointed out, both to him and to their father, that Duo had been with the goats the previous day. It had been her that had accused him of inadvertently murdering their mother. He couldn't blame her for that, since it was the truth, but he still felt some… hate for her for it. It was odd that Heero could figure his sister out so quickly, but he could understand how he could see Relena as someone who would do something like that.

"How can you know so much about my mother and my sister?" Duo asked in confusion, "You've only known Relena a day, and you never met my mom."

Heero blushed, but hid it by placing his head on top of Duo's.

"I guess… everyone has problems with their families," Heero murmured.

"Even you?" Duo pressed, then shut his mouth firmly when he realized he was being rude again, "I'm sorry, you said both your parents are dead, and you're on your own, I shouldn't have said that."

Heero chuckled.

"It's ok. My… problems are not nearly as traumatic as yours. Both of my parents died of natural causes. My mother had a brain aneurism, but my father had cancer. I was fifteen when he died and I spent an entire month saying goodbye to him. Unfortunately, I didn't have much in the way of a family once he left," he explained.

"Is that why you looked so sad when you were looking out the window, because you miss your parents?" Duo asked, lifting his head to look Heero in the eye again. Heero shook his head.

"Like I said, ten years is a long time, and though I'll always miss my parents, they're dead and I've come to grips with that, in the decade I've spent in the woods," Heero confessed, smiling a bit bitterly, "More than them, I miss my home. I'm so far away from it and I can never go back there. It's beyond the mountains somewhere… and I miss my friends. It's harder to miss something, knowing that it's still out there, but you can never find it again, than something that is long gone and can never come back. At least for me," he amended, "I don't mean to belittle your mother's death-,"

"I'm not offended," Duo reassured him, "If… if you left me and went back into the woods, and I knew that I could never find you again, no matter how hard I looked, but that you were out there anyway… I think that I'd feel that way, too," he said with a deep blush. Heero gasped as Duo suddenly hugged him tighter, burying his face in Heero's tan neck.

"You don't have to be alone anymore," Duo whispered, his voice sounding almost panicked, "You don't have to be lonely or sad anymore. You'll always have a home here."

Heero had been detached from society for a long time, but he wasn't an idiot. He could hear in Duo's voice that he was talking about the both of them, that Duo was just as desperate for him to stay as Heero was. He matched Duo's grip on him easily, trying to comfort as best as he could. In a gesture he had thought himself incapable of, he kissed Duo's cheek, and he wasn't sure if it was a fatherly kiss, or one between two very good friends, but that warmth in his chest stayed rooted.

"Neither of us has to be alone, I'll stay, Duo, if that's what you want," he said softly.

"Is that what you want?" Duo echoed, his voice sounding almost hollow with a haunted quality, "You've been a better friend to me than anyone else I've ever known, and we barely know each other at all, even if we know each other's pasts, we've only known each other for a day. I don't want you to be sad, either. Do you really want to stay here?"

Heero smiled to himself, cupping Duo's cheeks with both hands and swiping away the cooling tears on his skin with his thumbs.

"Yes, Duo, I do," he said, then lowered his voice to a near whisper, so he was almost speaking to himself, "You're more like your mother than you realize."

*****

Duo didn't really believe Heero's words about his mother's death not being his fault, but just that he would think that, believe that, about him was enough of a comfort that when he went back to his bedroom, he was smiling. Actually smiling. Well, maybe it was the fact that Heero had walked him back to his bedroom like… like he was his date or something that had made him smile. No, it was both of those things. Just knowing that Heero would be there if he ever needed him, that he would be able to talk to him, was the best comfort. He had told Heero the very worst thing that he had ever done… and his new friend didn't hate him for it. He hadn't expected that. Though, he suppose that if Heero truly didn't believe that he had caused his mother's death, why should he hate him? If Heero believed the truth, and not some pretty lie, he was sure that he would hate him, and why was that just as scary as his father hating him? Though he knew that his father did hate him, and didn't believe it wasn't his fault. If he did believe that, wouldn't he have said so, like Heero had? For whatever reason, to his surprise, once Heero had bade him good night and his head had hit the pillow, he had fallen into a deep sleep and had no nightmares until morning.

Duo awoke to the melodic sound of Sally singing her morning song and found, oddly, that he was smiling even as he awoke, either because of what had happened last night, his uninterrupted sleep, or the pretty, happy singing of his bird, he didn't know, but for the first time in a very long time, he was actually looking forward to his day. Heero had said that he would take him hiking in the woods and perhaps he could convince his father to let them have picnic… as long as they staid far away from the river, of course. Heero could only assuage his fear so much. He thought back on what his new friend had told him last night. Heero had lost both of his parents, too. Ok, maybe it was cruel to think that he had lost his father. Treize was still alive, but he felt as though he had lost him ten long years ago, because of his mistakes. It was true, their relationship was much more subdued than it had been back when his mother was alive and he knew it would never be the same. He wondered if Heero was really coping with the death of his parents as well as he said he was. Duo knew that the reason why his mother's death was so hard for him to deal with was because it had been his doing, but he also knew that it would also be a difficult thing for him if it had been just an accident, because… dammit… she had been his mother and he knew that he would always miss her, no matter how much time passed. Hell, he missed his eldest sister terribly and she was still alive, and he saw her every summer and for spring and winter breaks. He also wondered how old Heero was. He didn't look very old, but he had said that he had been living in the woods for ten years. Just how old was he? Duo smirked to himself. He supposed his family was a testament to the fact that age didn't matter. Relena was three years older than him and their father treated her like she was the youngest. As he got dressed, refilled Sally's food tray, made his bed, and left his room, he wondered what Heero would like for breakfast. He was sure that, whatever was presented to him, Heero would appreciate, since he had seemed so starved last night. Anyone who had been living in the wild for so long like he had would be happy with any hot meal, but he wanted Heero's first real breakfast in ten years to be special. Duo wasn't much of a chef, but he could make waffles and eggs pretty well.

On his way out the door, Duo braided his hair and promptly ran into a very firm chest.

"Hey, there," an amused voice chuckled at him. Duo blinked up at Heero, blushing deeply at his blunder.

"H-Heero, I'm sorry!" he apologized, but Heero only smirked at him and ruffled his newly combed bangs a little.

"No harm," he assured him, "I was waiting for you, anyway. I didn't want to go down to breakfast without you, but I didn't want to wake you, either. You seemed very tired last night," Heero said in concern, studying Duo's face for any of the stress he had seen there last night.

"I feel better," Duo confessed, "I was just… very restless, and it helped to talk to someone."

"Glad to be of some help, considering that I'm not doing anything around here to pull my weight," Heero said with a smile and Duo couldn't be sure if Heero was serious about the comment.

"You don't have to do a thing! Dad and I are grateful for your help when I was lost and we have a few servants to do most of the work. I usually help out, but Relena doesn't do a thing, but Dad doesn't force her to do anything, either, and at least we're still in your debt," Duo pointed out.

"I'd like to think that I'm not the type to shirk some chores because I'm lazy. Even if your father says that I don't have to do anything, if I'm going to be living here for more than just a few days, I'd like to help out," Heero said as they walked down the steps together.

"Well," Duo said thoughtfully, "If you really want something to do, you can help me with the stuff that I do; feed the koi fish, help with the dishes, and cleaning the windows, oh, and watering my mother's flowers in the greenhouse, too. That used to be Relena's chore, but she never ends up doing it, so I might as well add it to the list," he said a bit grumpily, but Heero could tell that it was more out of irritation of his sister than the chore itself.

"Why am I not surprised to hear that that girl doesn't do her share?" Heero muttered, still annoyed at what Duo's sister had pulled on him the day before. Instead of getting angry about the insult, Duo gave out a little laugh that had Heero smiling. He loved Duo's laughs, even if they were small and rare. He wanted to get him to laugh more often.

"Good morning," Treize greeted from the foot of the stairs, dressed in a handsome business suit, his light blue eyes looking from his son to Heero, "I trust you slept well last night, Heero?"

Heero nodded.

"The room was perfect, thank you."

Treize nodded back to him, then looked at Duo again.

"I'm afraid that you'll have to show Heero around the house today, Duo. I've been called into a meeting and I won't be back until tomorrow morning," Treize's eyes narrowed and his expression turned sterner and more paternal, "I don't want to come back and hear that you and your sister were fighting again. If she says anything to either of you, I want you to ignore it. Be the better man, Duo."

"Ok," Duo said, almost meekly. He often didn't raise his voice to his sister, but Heero had given him the courage to do it, somehow, though, ironically, he didn't want to cause a scene in front of the man.

"Now, then," Treize continued, "I have to leave now, but Duo can make the both of you some breakfast and I've told the cook to make something nice for lunch and dinner."

Heero watched as Duo's expression turned softer and he shook hands with his father, saying goodbye. It made him frown, that Duo and Treize were so uncomfortable with each other that they couldn't even hug goodbye. He noticed the frown on Treize's face as well and couldn't help but wonder if Treize really did not want to hug his son, or if he just wanted to respect Duo's space and decisions. He couldn't tell. All he knew was that Duo suddenly became very silent as they walked into the kitchen. Relena was already sitting at the table, eating a frosted croissant, dressed in her light pink pajamas. She gave the two of them a look thick with disdain, taking small bites from her food. She mostly watched her little brother, warily, remembering the previous night and that hate-filled look in his eyes. However, this morning, the heated look had cooled a little and he made his way towards the stove. Heero didn't take his eyes off her, worried what she might do now that her father was gone. It was a silly thought, she was just a teenaged girl, but he couldn't forget the contempt she had for her little brother. Relena realized that he was watching her and glared at him. He suddenly felt the urge to strike her, not because of what she had pulled on him yesterday, or even that she constantly argued and fought with his new friend, but because she had told Duo those horrible things. He had only been five years old, and she had told him that his mother had drowned, and that it was all his fault. She had told him that he had murdered their mother. He didn't care if Relena had been angry or grieving, he hated her for it. Relena backed down as the tall man looked ready to snarl and bite her head off. It was Duo's humming as he took down the frying pan that made Heero look away. He smiled affectionately as Duo turned on the stove. He was oddly… cute, and Heero couldn't help but feel that warmth in his chest again. He didn't notice when Relena put down her croissant with an annoyed, cold expression and walked away from the table, towards Duo.

She couldn't believe that their father had left her all alone with her little brother and a complete stranger, then had told her that the little brat was in charge! What father did that?! Well, she was older, so she was the adult here, not a boy that was too young to even drive! Her first order of business was dealing with Heero. She couldn't throw him out of the house, but she sure as hell wasn't going to treat him like one of the family like her father had been doing. Duo stopped what he was doing as he watched her approach. Any joy he felt about eating breakfast with Heero vanished just by her being near him.

"What do you want?" he ground out. He had wished that she would just finish her breakfast and leave them alone for the rest of the day. He was still pissed at her for last night and was in no mood to deal with her attitude towards Heero. She shoved him back and yanked the frying pan off the stove.

"If he wants breakfast, he can go and forage berries or something," she sneered, "There's no reason to give him our food when scraps will do just fine."

Duo's hand curled into a fist and Relena felt that brief spark of fear again.

"You stupid-," he snarled.

"It's fine, Duo," Heero said tersely, narrowing his eyes at Relena. She was right, he had lived hand to mouth and he could easily survive without their food, but he was more annoyed at her shoving Duo and ordering him around. He certainly didn't want to cause the two siblings to fight any more than he already did. Though… he had never imagined in his life that he would come between two beautiful teenagers. It was actually kind of funny.

"He's not eating our food!" Relena snapped, folding her arms over her chest. Heero turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen, heading for the doors that lead outside. Duo watched him go with a pained expression, then glared angrily at his sister.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" he exploded. Relena flinched, not used to his brother's anger or cursing.

"Don't talk to me like that!" she snapped back, "I'm your big sister, or have you forgotten?"

"Heero is our guest, you can't just… forbid him to eat!" Duo growled.

"I can do what I want," Relena said snidely, "I'm in charge, here and I'm not having that… animal in places where he's not wanted."

Suddenly, Duo was in Relena's face and she stumbled back, seeing the urge to do something violent for her in his expression.

"I hate you," he hissed and whirled, following Heero's flight.

End part 2


	3. Chapter 3

The Frog Prince

Part 3

He had never been so… furious in his entire life! Of course, that wasn't saying much since he rarely ever got angry. Relena had never brought him to this level of mad before. She had shoved him into the mud, belittled his feelings, made him feel ashamed of every decision and action he had ever made, but for the first time ever, he had been very, very close to striking her. He honestly didn't know what had stopped him from doing it like he had wanted to, like he had seen him doing in his head, and right now, he wasn't even sure if that was a good thing. For once, he had really wanted his sister to pay for her rude, stuck-up behavior. He just didn't want to stoop that level just to make things fair. As much as her attitude had hurt him and had separated them, hitting her wouldn't make him feel better and it wouldn't make her stop. So, maybe it was a good thing he had stormed out before it had come to that.

Still, he knew that he would never forgive her for treating Heero that way. Heero was quickly becoming someone that he treasured on the same level as his family and he certainly regarded his feelings and respect above Relena's. He didn't deserve to be treated like an animal, like how his sister thought he should be treated. Duo stumbled to a halt in the hallway, his breaths coming out in pants, though he didn't know if it was because of his running or if it was because he was so angry. He wasn't used to feeling this way and it was starting make him feel a little ill. With a strangled sound of anger, he whirled and punched the wall, but it didn't make him feel better. It just made his fist hurt. Heero… he deserved to have a nice breakfast, with people that cared about him, and Duo was the best that he could manage. It was a poor substitute, Duo thought.

He had stormed out of the kitchen to follow Heero, but he staid still now, hesitating in the hallway. Heero had seemed angry, too, what if he was angry at him? It was a stupid thought, for once he hadn't done anything he could think of that would make Heero mad at him, but it was an automatic thought, that if someone was mad, he had to have done something to cause it. Obviously, it was Relena who had made Heero mad and he certainly couldn't blame him for that. He could go after him, he should go after him, but what could he possibly say to him that would make things better? He could apologize for his sister's behavior, but that wouldn't make her any less of a bitch. He could apologize for not doing more to stop her from letting him make breakfast, but Heero had told him that it was fine, even though they both knew that it wasn't.

He didn't go after Heero, because he didn't really know for sure where he had gone, because he knew that his friend was angry, and because, no matter what Relena had done, he still wanted to do something nice for the man that had comforted him when no one else would. He waited in the hallway for a few minutes. Relena always took so long with breakfast, mostly pastries and tea. Their father always lectured her that you couldn't start your day with sugar and fat, but she had been eating breakfast that way since she had been a little girl, the tea so sweet, it might as well have been a dessert instead of a drink. Duo was more into the meat and potato thing himself. Relena had turned breakfast into more of a gesture than a meal, like afternoon tea for the British, while Duo considered it more of a way to wake up. Relena had been halfway through her croissant when she had intervened, so he waited a few minutes before going back to the kitchen.

Relena was indeed gone, probably taking advantage of being home alone to take a walk in the woods. A spark of irritation rose in him at her carelessness. That something could happen to her, that their father's rules were there for a reason, would never occur to his sister. Her dirty dishes were still at the table, the frying pan he had started to use still carelessly discarded on the counter top by the stove. He sighed heavily. She couldn't even put her dishes by the sink? He could leave it there and one of their servants would find it eventually, but it would be like a thorn in his side, always stinging him until he took care of it. It just wasn't his way to leave things lying around like that. He took her dish and cup with the saucer to the sink to wash them, then put the frying pan back on the stove and turned the heat on. Screw Relena, he thought. He was going to make Heero some breakfast and he didn't care how many temper tantrums she threw. He smiled at that thought. She would probably throw a fit just at the thought of how powerless she really was. Didn't she realize that he was probably going to tell their father about this? Of course, that was something else he couldn't think of doing. He was too used to fighting his own battles against her and it would once again be his word against hers.

But he didn't need his father to help him right now. If he couldn't stand up to Relena now, for the sake of his friend, he would probably never find a good reason to stand up against her ever in his life. He had never felt the urge to stand up to her before, no matter what she had done to him, but seeing her treat Heero in that same way made him want to be strong for once, to not just let things roll over him. He gathered some things and put them on the counter near the stove, some butter, some cinnamon, eggs, flour, sugar, vegetable oil, a few spices here and there, cream, bacon, and a few apples. He had no idea what Heero liked, if he was an omelet kind of guy or just liked toast and some coffee, so he stuck with what he knew.

Every Sunday morning, Duo's mother had made him hot cakes. She called them that because, she said, they weren't really pancakes, they were too small, about the size of a coaster or his little hands, and they were sweeter and creamier tasting than regular pancakes. Duo had always thought that her hot cakes tasted a lot like cake anyway, like something you would buy out of the bakery. She had explained that they were cooked differently, with cream instead of water, and the cinnamon made them taste better. She had also taught him how to make home-fries and how to sauté the bacon with apples to make it taste even better. It was always his favorite breakfast and remained so, even after she had died. He knew how to make them by heart, how to make them small, so they were like bite-sized treats, and how to cook the bacon just right, not too raw, but not burnt. It made him feel good, falling into the sort of routine of making his favorite meal, only this time he got to share it with someone. He would have taken the time to make hash-browns if he hadn't been so concerned with how late it was and how Heero should have had breakfast almost a half an hour ago. If he made them, the rest of the food would get cold.

Relena didn't come in to bother him as he finished making breakfast and put it all on one big tray to take to Heero. He hoped that Heero hadn't gone far or the food really would get cold. He had never really cooked for anyone except for himself. His father couldn't cook very well and relied on their cook to make meals, though Duo got some sort of little pleasure out of cooking desserts and breakfasts for himself. It took a little bit of grace to balance the tray and get the kitchen door open, but he managed not to spill anything and got up the steps to Heero's room.

"Come in," Duo was rewarded with the sound of Heero's voice when he knocked and edged the door open with his knee.  
"Breakfast is served!" he said a bit cheerfully to the point where he barely recognized his own tone. Heero was sitting on the bed with the little bedside clock in his hands, his brilliant blue eyes wide at the sight of Duo's tray.

"Here, let me help," Heero all but jumped to his feet and bounded over to him, taking the tray from him and putting it on the bed. Duo blushed at Heero's almost motherly attitude with helping him. With his father's business, they got a few diplomats and business partners at their home, but Heero, ironically, was the first 'gentleman' he had really met. Usually, the people his father brought to the house tended to ignore him and his sister like they were annoying brats instead of teenagers.

"I thought your sister ordered you not to make breakfast for me?" Heero questioned with a slight tone of humor, but his gaze was soft, almost affectionate if Duo didn't know any better. He snorted, not wanting Heero to think that he was going to get in trouble just for making him breakfast.

"My father left me in charge, not her. Besides, you're our guest and she's just being rude," he grumbled, sitting on the bed next to the tray, handing Heero one of the plates he had prepared.

"I-I'm sorry… about what she said and did," Duo stuttered. He was usually quite articulate, but Heero's intense gaze and almost brutally honest nature threw him and made him feel uneven. Heero smiled at him, sitting on the bed next to him and chewed on a piece of bacon.

"This is delicious," he groaned. Duo blushed a bright red, feeling odd at the sound, like he was hot and cold at the same time and his skin was prickled. It was a nice feeling, yet uncomfortable at the same time, like being excited over a present, only this was even more intense. Was this what lust was, or was this something else?

"Did you make this yourself?" Heero asked in surprise. Duo nodded, brimming with happiness at his approval. He realized that he didn't care at all what Relena did, as long as he could make Heero happy.

"It's really good?" he asked meekly. Heero's smile widened and he tried one of the hot cakes.

"It's even better than I used to have when I had a home," he said warmly. The compliment only made Duo color harder, which he had thought was plain impossible. He dug into his own dish, but he didn't taste anything like what Heero was suggesting. It was just his usual cooking, nothing special.

"You know," Heero said after taking a sip of orange juice, "People like your sister learn, sooner or later, that the world doesn't revolve around them. The world is cruel and the only thing that is really worth your time are the people you make friends with. Beyond that, money, fame, none of it really matters in the end," Heero smiled, deep in his thoughts, "In the end, when I was lonely in those woods, all the money in the world didn't make me feel better, only the friends I had left behind."

"You left friends?" Duo asked in confusion, "I thought you didn't have anyone?"

"I had no family," Heero confessed, "But I wasn't completely missed."

"But why can't you see them?" Duo pressed, "If I had friends, I'd never want to leave them!"

Heero's expression turned sad and he covered Duo's smaller hand with his.

"If you had friends?" he murmured, "You have one now, Duo."

Just when Duo thought he was getting his complexion back under control, he ended up blushing again.

"Yes, you are," he said softly, "And I'd never want to leave you behind."

"I didn't want to, either," Heero said in such a light voice, Duo almost missed it, "But I won't be leaving you, not if I have a choice about it," he assured. He gave Duo a strange little smile and reached under the bed spread.

"You've done a lot for me, making me breakfast, bringing me in out of the storm, and you've been a good friend in return," he said.

"So have you," Duo pointed out, "I mean, we just met, but I've told you things that I've never told anyone."

"That's my point. I need to give you something back, something that you deserve," Heero's voice was almost teasing. Duo's eyes were wide with shock as Heero placed a familiar, shimmering ball of quartz into his hands. His violet eyes shakily looked at Heero, his face no longer red, but a startling white.

"H… how?" he whispered, his heart shuddering in his chest, but he realized that it wasn't from the feel of the cold stone, but the burning heat of Heero's fingers as he placed the ball there. Those fingers lingered on his skin. Heero found himself blushing at the feel of Duo's soft hand and the enraptured look in those violet eyes. If it had been appropriate, he would have held one of those hands, just at that look.

"Yesterday, your sister threw that ball in the river and asked me to go fetch it. I did and she ran away with it, after she had promised me that she would let me stay here," Heero told him, "I figured that, if this ball had been hers, she never would have lost it in the first place. I snuck into her room and found it and I am now returning it to its rightful owner."

The orb was nearly forgotten as Duo placed it gently on the bed in a rush, then flung his arms around Heero, hugging him tightly. It was odd… last night, he would have been ecstatic to get his ball back, and he was, but it was that gesture of kindness, that Heero would risk getting caught stealing from his sister, to risk getting thrown out, just for some silly little thing like a ball of quartz, that made him feel… hell, he couldn't describe it. It was like… like meeting your best friend for the first time and knowing how you fit together and how much you enjoyed each other, only it was more than that. Heero had heard his dark secret and, the very next day, had done something so nice. He hadn't even really known the ball had been his, but just on the off chance of making him happy, he had stolen it back. He pressed his body against Heero's strong one, his heart doing that strange, shuddering thing again that almost made him want to cry, it was so warm.

Heero felt Duo's small, warm body press against his, he could practically feel the happiness rolling off of the younger boy and he felt something inside snap. That thing was cold and it had been there for a very long time, born out of loneliness and solitude, but at the feel of his friend's heartbeat and tight embrace, it finally broke away at his realization that he was truly no longer alone. He broke away from Duo's arms and pressed his lips against the longhaired boy's, his hand coming up to trace his cheek, not truly keeping him grounded as much as just feeling him.

Duo immediately froze, his arms falling limp at his sides. The feeling of Heero's soft lips on his sent this weird shock running up his spine and his insides felt tight, but he got used to it easily and melted into the feelings. He should have felt awkward or violated, but he didn't. It felt… good, in a way that he hadn't thought it would. He could feel Heero's fingers touching his cheek, caressing him, his lips moving slowly against his own, sending sparks of pleasure through his body. The way Heero explored his lips and his skin was like someone would explore something special and wonderful. In that intimate moment, where he could feel Heero's undivided attention and realized that the older man was as enthralled by the kiss as he was, he understood all the clichés he had seen on television and read in books. He understood the toe curling, the seeing stars, the world stopping around you, he understood all of it. It felt… incredible. He didn't even want to know why Heero was kissing him of all people, all he knew was that he felt so very warm inside, he felt… loved. Even if Heero didn't love him and it had just been a spur of the moment thing, he did feel loved. He had never felt special before, like there was something different about him that could catch another person's attention. He realized that it wasn't just that feeling that made him feel so breathless, like his entire body was stopping and throbbing in an erratic beat at the same time. It was because it was Heero that was kissing him, someone that he cared for, might even love if you could believe that, someone that made him feel safe and actually cared about him in return.

Heero couldn't say what had spurred him to do it. In the light of the room, Duo had just looked so… beautiful, and feeling him wrapped around him like that, feeling his gratitude and his friendship, he couldn't have stopped it. He had just felt this indescribable urge to kiss the other boy. So, he had. Heero had never been the type of person to deny himself anything. If he felt it, he would act on it, no matter how impulsive. It was something he had always believed in and his parents had taught him that it was a good thing, acting on your emotions, in that moment, every thought and feeling had been telling him to kiss Duo. Beyond that residual instinct and his tender, yet passionate, feelings for his friend, Heero realized that it was probably Duo's first kiss and wanted to make him enjoy it, too, without scaring him off. It wasn't Heero's first, but he found that this was better than the others. As old as he was, he had never had the chance to have any sort of relationship, and moments of intimacy such as kissing and holding hands had been stolen in the heat of the moment, but this was different. Duo's body was flush against his and he knew that the longhaired boy was enjoying himself. He could feel his warmth, could taste him, even though he wouldn't use his tongue in case Duo wasn't ready for it, he even thought he could feel how fast Duo's heart was racing. And it was nice, more than just nice, really. When he felt Duo respond to him, start to kiss him back, he didn't regret it. It wasn't possible to fall in love this quickly, he kept telling himself. He had never fallen in love before, period, so he couldn't possibly feel the way he was feeling now for a boy he had only properly met yesterday. But though he told himself that, he didn't really believe it. He couldn't believe it when his heart was racing so fast, just at a simple kiss.

Duo felt cold when they finally broke apart, but not because Heero's mouth was hot against his, he just felt sort of empty, like he had gotten a taste of something wonderful. Then, his eyes met Heero's and that feeling of cold left him. Even though they were no longer kissing, Heero hadn't left him, either. Though their lips were no longer touching, Heero's hand lingered on his cheek, as though he didn't want to let go just yet. Duo wanted to ask why, why Heero would ever bother with a naïve little kid like him, but he found that he didn't really care. Giving his first kiss to his very first, real friend was more than he could ever hope for. He didn't really care why at that moment, he just wanted to remember how good it had felt for the rest of his life. Heero's fingers lightly caressed his cheek and there was an intense sort of wonder in Heero's eyes, as though he couldn't believe what had just happened any more than Duo could.

"You are so beautiful," Heero said in a little more than a whisper, as though he was overwhelmed by that simple fact, "More than your sister could ever hope to be. I've met a lot of people in my life, I've traveled all over the world, and I've learned what beauty really is. You can work your entire life to be pretty, but in the end, it's only a fact of nature. People that work for it, lose it in the end, but those that are born that way, through their actions, their attitudes, and their very nature, stay that way forever," Heero smiled softly, making Duo's heart start to beat fast again, "You're beautiful, not just on the outside, though that is true, too. You're beautiful because you understand, where your sister never can, how valuable life really is. You treasure it, life and everything that is wonderful in the world without hoarding it or envying it. Your sister might be pretty, but her looks are tainted because she doesn't understand how the world really is, that, as cruel as it is, it's something to be treasured, not whittled away with only the beneficial things," he kissed Duo's cheek lightly, slipping his hand away, "That's all I want in a friend, in someone I can love," he murmured, "Someone who understands that what they have can't be taken for granted, because you can lose everything in a single second, someone who can see beauty in the world, even when they're suffering."

Duo looked into Heero's blue eyes, feeling like he was on the edge of some terrible cliff, yet feeling safe and protected at the same time, as though he knew that Heero wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. There was that dark part of himself that was screaming to not let Heero in, to not let himself feel anything for the man. He would just die, or leave him alone in some other way, but in the end, he would just end up alone. His sisters would move on with their lives and his father would die and there he would be, friendless, loveless, and all alone. But he couldn't make himself listen to that voice. Heero wouldn't leave him, he told himself, he was different. Heero was right. Beauty was all about seeing the good in the dark things, as well as the bright things. Heero understood what it was like to be lonely, to have no one, and Heero wouldn't do that to him, he just wouldn't.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," Duo breathed, unable to hold in the confession, "How is that possible?" he asked a bit pained, "How can I feel that way in only one day?"

Heero's smile was soft and not condescending, as though he knew exactly what Duo was talking about and how he was feeling, and Duo wished that he did, he wished it more than anything.

"I don't think that love can know time. It must not, because I love you, too. I've had friends and what I feel for you is different, so very different. I love you because you're different from everyone else, you're kind and honest. You took me in, just because I needed help."

Duo's eyes widened into a shocked expression.

"You love me? How can you be so sure? I'm not even entirely sure," he murmured, "I've never felt anything this… strong before, but how can I be sure?"

"You can't," Heero said, squeezing Duo's shoulder in assurance, "I can't tell you how you feel, Duo, but you didn't tell me to stop when I kissed you and I think you liked it. At the very least, you're comfortable with me and no one has been that way to me in a very long time."

Duo watched, feeling all sorts of things, as Heero put their dishes on the floor. Was this really love, or was he confusing feelings of friendship and camaraderie for a relationship he had only seen glimpses of in real life and on the television? Could friendship feel this way? No… he didn't think so. He wanted things, things he couldn't even put words to, but he felt that they were things that you wouldn't want from a friend. He felt that Heero was right, that the time didn't really matter, only what they felt. Yes, he was sure that he loved Heero, even if he had never experienced it before, probably because he didn't have any other word for what he was feeling when he looked into Heero's eyes. He wanted to know everything about the man, he wanted to spend every waking minute with him. He wanted him to kiss him again and maybe he would. That was the finally nail on the coffin that was his doubts, that feeling of excitement and yearning, thinking about getting more kisses from Heero. He folded his legs underneath him and wondered what Heero would do if he leaned against him. Before that moment when Heero had pressed his lips to Duo's, Duo would have buried that desire to touch Heero deep down inside, where he couldn't feel anything but numbness and regret, but now, that kiss had made him feel bolder. It had made him feel… special. He leaned against Heero as they sat next to each other on the bed and almost cried in the emotion that surged through his heart as Heero wrapped a strong arm around his waist, trying to pull him even closer.

"Can you tell me about it?" Duo asked shyly, "Traveling all over the world?"

Heero gave him an indulgent smile.

"Well, my father was a rich diplomat with a few businesses on the side, like your father," Heero told him, "Our permanent residence was in Japan. My mother was from there and no matter how much money we had, she said that she could never give up her roots. We traveled around a lot, though, and I liked it, even as a kid. I guess I was lucky, I had one friend whose father worked for my father as a consultant and we got to travel together, so I was never really lonely."

Duo snorted bitterly.

"It must have been nice. It's a bit ironic, actually. I've staid in this house my entire life, but I never had any friends," he confessed, "We never traveled anywhere. The farthest away we got was the theater in town on Saturdays."

"It must have been lonely," Heero said softly, playing with the fabric of Duo's black shirt. Duo nodded, swallowing roughly.

"I had my eldest sister, Hilde, though. Or… at least I used to, she's at college now. Whatever happened to your friend? Why did you end up here?" he asked. Heero ran a hand through his messy, thick hair, a dark look in his eyes that made Duo regret asking the question.

"When my father died, I no longer had anywhere to call home," he said sadly, "I had no money, no house, and what little family I had left didn't want me around. So, I did a little bit of traveling on my own. I couldn't burden my best friend with my problems. I had known that he would have tried to help me, even if he ended up getting hurt doing so. Eventually, I found these woods. I couldn't rely on people anymore, it hurt too much to try when I knew my friend hadn't known where I had gone, and no one else was going to help me. So, I relied on myself."

"How old are you?" Duo questioned.

"Twenty-five," Heero responded, chuckling at Duo's shocked look.

"You're ten years older than me?!" Duo squeaked.

"Yes, does that make me a cradle robber?" Heero teased, kissing Duo on the nose which made the younger boy blink in reaction.

"I'm not that young," Duo grumbled, "I'll be sixteen in the fall."

Heero sighed jokingly.

"I guess that means I have to wait another two years before I can confess my undying love to you," he said with a grin. Duo glared at him.

"You already did that and I don't think you're going to go to jail for kissing a teenager. Besides, I can take care of myself," he muttered.

"I'm sure you can," Heero said affectionately.

*****

Relena sat on her bed, her back against the wall, and listened to the voices coming through from the other room. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could hear the soft murmurs and tones and knew that they belonged to Heero and her little brother. She should have known that the two of them would be conspiring, like two thieves. Who knew what they were talking about! She had known something was up when Duo had never chased after her when she had taken a walk in the woods. He hadn't been waiting for her when she had come back into the house, either, not like he normally did. Usually, he would trail after her, acting like the parent in their father's absence, but today, it was like he hadn't spared her a single thought.

Then there was what he had done in the kitchen. He had told her that he hated her. No one had ever said that to her before, especially not her little wimp of a brother! And that hatred in his eyes… he really did hate her, to the very extent that someone could hate another human being. And he hadn't worried about her or thought of her this entire day, he had just slunk away with that Asian bastard to do who knows what! That thought made her feel jealous. No, that couldn't be right. There was no way she was jealous of the vagabond over her brother's attention! Anyway, she should feel happy that the little brat hadn't bothered her all day. Still, the way Duo was clinging to Heero and the way that Heero looked at him sometimes made a suspicion rise in her mind. It would serve him right if the homeless man was a fag, too, and ended up raping her little brother. She smiled maliciously, suddenly feeling better than she had in days.

*****

Duo and Heero ate dinner in comfort, the chef making them stir fry, talking about taking a hike the next day when Treize came back. Heero hadn't felt sure about taking Duo into the woods without his father, in case something happened and he certainly wasn't going to trust Relena for anything. She never did show up for dinner, though, for which they were both grateful. They had had a great day, talking to each other and talking a walk around the house, Duo showing him around the house, and neither of them wanted her around to ruin it. They didn't talk about the kiss or their feelings, they didn't feel that they needed to. With Treize gone and Relena not showing her face for so long, it was almost as though they were living there alone. It had been nice. Duo believed that the word for it was 'domestic', like it was just the two of them in the world, taking care of each other. He knew that it wasn't real and that it wouldn't last any longer than a day, but he had enjoyed it.

When he was with Heero, the voices in his head reminding him that he was a murderer, that he wasn't anyone worthy of anyone's love were softer and harder to listen to. Not seeing Relena around to bother them did make him feel edgy, he would even wonder if she was ok if he hadn't seen the light on in her room when they had gone down to eat dinner, but it was becoming harder and harder to be the dutiful brother. There was always going to be that part of him that didn't want to see her hurt, but after all those years of her blaming him, taunting him, plus now with that crap she had pulled in the woods, her lies, and her attitude towards Heero, it was just so hard to find the good things in her. Wanting to always protect her, just because she was his sister was too hard, too painful. He was at the end of his rope with her constant betrayals. He would always care about her, but Heero had awoken something inside of him, some sort of inner strength that had given him the courage to not put up with her. He guessed that it was that constant presence, the thought that if he tried to be weak about all of it, to let Relena cow him again, Heero would step up and protect him, that made him want to be strong, too. He wondered if he should go for it, being happy with Heero. He knew he didn't deserve it, but denying it was so very hard. He just didn't have the willpower to fight with himself anymore. Heero had broken down his resolve, and as guilty as he still felt about his past, it was too hard to keep on that path.

Duo watched Heero as they cleared the table of the dirty dishes and went to work in the kitchen, Heero washing and him drying. He thought about his nightmares and how much he didn't want to have them, not after the wonderful day he had been having. He knew that his nightmares were more than just brutal reminders of his mistake, they were his insecurities towards every decision he had ever made, his fears that he would end up alienating everyone that he loved. His father hated him, his mother was dead, his sister was as distant as anyone could be, and Hilde was so far away, he couldn't manage more than an e-mail or a phone call. What if Heero ended up the same way? What if, tonight, because Heero had managed to get so close to him and he had finally managed to realize that, he would dream of Heero drowning in the mud instead of his mother, while he watched on callously? He didn't think he could take that. He had slept so well last night because, somehow, Heero had managed to drive away his fears, just by listening to him and not accusing him of anything. There was something about Heero, about how he had made him feel safe, that had driven away those bad thoughts and bad dreams.

"Will you sleep with me tonight?" Duo blurted out. Heero stiffened in shock and nearly dropped a plate, but managed to catch it before it fell to the floor. He looked at Duo with wide eyes, studying the younger boy intensely.

"Duo," he sighed, "I know that we joked about it a little, about our ages, but I don't want you to think that I had implied I wanted to do that. I don't want you to think that that kiss means I'm pushing you to be… intimate with me. You're very attractive, I've told you that, and I care for you a great deal, but it's because that I care for you that I'm not in any rush. We don't even know if we want a relationship and you're certainly not ready for-,"

"I-I didn't mean sex!" Duo stammered, his face beet red, "I just meant, you know, sleeping, you and me, pajamas, one bed. That's all! I just want to try it, before Dad gets back, I just want one night when I don't have to dream…" he shut his mouth tightly, knowing he was saying more than he had wanted to. Heero put the dish down and pulled Duo into his arms for a brief hug, Duo blushing even more severely as they parted.

"Alright," he agreed, "If you had told me you were having nightmares, I would have offered. Can you not sleep? How long have you been having them?"

Duo gave a small shrug.

"Since Mom died," he murmured, "Sometimes it's hard to sleep afterwards."

Heero winced, knowing all about how powerful bad dreams could be. He had had more than his fair share after his father had died and he had started living on his own in the dark, cold woods, surrounded by wild creatures.

"Does your Dad know?" he asked. Duo shook his head.

"Last night… after you and I talked, I slept better than I had in ten years. I thought… maybe if you were close to me, I might manage that again. The nightmares aren't terrible, they just unsettle me. I can live with them, but I just want to try and see if this works," he said. Heero smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"I'm willing to give it a try. We'll keep both of our nightmares away, then. But once your father comes home tomorrow, we can't do this again. I don't want him to think there's anything inappropriate going on between us," Heero warned.

"But isn't there?" Duo asked shyly, "I know that just sharing one kiss and understanding how we feel about each other doesn't constitute any sort of relationship, but I would like us to have one, even if we aren't… intimate, I'd like to have more than friendship, while keeping the friendship bits."

"Duo, there is nothing more that I would like than to be your boyfriend, but you're fifteen years old and I'm the first person outside of your family that you've been close to," Heero pointed out.

"But I know what I feel!" Duo snapped, "Don't patronize me! I know I'm a lot younger than you and I'm new to this whole love thing, but I know the difference between friendship and lovers! If you're saying that you can't be in a relationship just because you doubt my feelings, that's no reason at all!"

Heero panicked at the hurt he saw in his friend's eyes and put his hands on Duo's shoulders, comforting and keeping him still.

"That's not what I'm saying," he reassured him, "I'm just trying to show you what your father would think. I would never hide a relationship with you from him, that isn't fair to any of us, especially not to you, but if he catches us in bed together, he's going to think that I'm having sex with you and that isn't true. You're not ready for that, even you have to agree, and your father certainly doesn't need to go around thinking that I'm some sort of pervert who would take advantage of the first willing body that's come my way. He doesn't know how either of us feels. After he knows that, he can think what he likes, but I'm not going to cause a rift between the three of us for something so little. Do you understand?"

Duo nodded, feeling his temper, a fragile thing that he had just discovered in the last two days, drain away.

"I understand, I just don't want to lose this. I mean, I just found you and I don't want you to put everything on hold just because it might make my father uncomfortable," Duo said.

"And what if it does?" Heero asked, "What if your father doesn't approve of you seeing me? I'm ten years older than you, I'm a boy, and I'm a complete stranger, not to mention poor and homeless."

"He doesn't care about that!" Duo protested, "And if he did, he would just be making decisions for me. I may be a kid, but I can make my own decisions. I love you and there's nothing he can do to change that. If he doesn't approve, it will just hurt me. If he's willing to do that… I just can't do what he says to be a good son. Our relationship is crap anyway and, if it gets worse, it's not your fault, I just can't compromise that way."

Heero sighed heavily.

"Your relationship with your father doesn't have to be that way. Even if you had forgotten to latch the pen that night, he can't blame you, it wasn't your fault. If he does, then he doesn't deserve to be a father. The two of you need to sit down and talk about this. It's bullshit that it's gotten so bad that the two of you can't even be in the same room without all of this negative energy and bad feelings between you two. It's been ten years, Duo, the both of you need to let it go. Your mother died and that's terrible, but all this blame and sadness and guilt is tearing apart a family that should have stuck together and helped each other," Heero tried to make his friend see reason. Duo looked away, shaking his head, and didn't say another word. Heero knew exactly what he was thinking anyway, that such a huge wound could never possibly heal. He wanted to force Duo to talk to his father, but knew that it would have to come on its own. He just hoped that Duo was wrong, that this could be fixed. Heero hoped that he wasn't too late.

*****

The woods made all sorts of sounds at night, especially in the spring time. There were the various chirpings and clicking of insects, the howls of wolves, the rustlings of leaves and various vegetations by the wind, sometimes Heero had been able to hear the rushing of the river. The house, however, was a thing of stone and wood, still and silent. It was well constructed and lacked the creaks and settling that other houses did. The previous night, Heero hadn't dared to touch a thing in his guest room besides the bed and the silence had kept him awake. He had been too used to the little night sounds of the woods to be able to relax in a place of total silence.

When Duo and Heero got ready to go to bed together, Duo had told him that they should use his room because the bed was bigger. Heero didn't mind which room they used and he definitely thought that Duo's room was nicer. It wasn't that it was bigger or that more posh than his, but that it actually looked lived in. With the look of the guest rooms, it was obvious that no one had visited the family in quite awhile, the bed had been perfectly made, everything in an almost tomb-like, preserved state that was more disturbing to him than comforting. Duo's room wasn't dirty or anything, he obviously took care of his things, but the room lacked that perfection. There was a tiny crease in the sheets on the bed, the pillows not quite lined up with each other, the windows were wide open, and there was a bird cage near the bed, a brightly colored finch fluttering around inside excitedly at the sight of intruders into it's domain.

The sight of the little bird made Heero smile. Of course there had been no exotic finches in the woods, but the sound of the bird's song made silence impossible, and the open windows let in the familiar sound of crickets. Duo's room just looked… lived in and well loved and he instantly felt more comfortable in it than the guest room. That feeling of comfort edged off a little when Duo came out of his bathroom wearing his night clothes, an old, long t-shirt and loose cotton pants, and Heero realized what he had agreed to. Duo's long braid swung down his back side as he closed the door behind him. It was an oddly tantalizing thing, that hair. Heero had never seen hair like that on anyone, let alone a guy, not that color or that length. Everything about Duo was sort of tantalizing, not in an overly sexual way, but in that sort of overwhelming way that just caught your eye.

"Aren't you going to change?" Duo asked him with a cock of his head. Heero was still dressed in the sweatpants and tank top Treize had lent him yesterday. The older man had offered to give him pajamas and nicer clothes, but Heero had declined the offer. He had been living in his ratty scraps of clothing for too long to even think about wearing anything formal.

"I'm used to sleeping in my clothes, unless it bothers you," Heero explained. Duo shook his head.

"It's fine as long as you're comfortable. What about the window?"

Heero smiled at him.

"I'd prefer it open," he told him. Duo smiled.

"Me, too," he said softly.

Heero watched as Duo walked over the bird cage, smiling affectionately at the finch, which was still singing energetically.

"Hey, Sally, it's almost bed time, don't you think you should settle down?" he asked with a smirk. Sally flapped and chirped happily.

"Silly bird," he chuckled. Heero felt oddly soft and warm at the sight of the boy talking to the bird like it was another human.

"Her name is Sally?" Heero questioned in amusement, "That's an odd name for a bird."

Duo blushed.

"She used to be my sister's bird, but she never took care of her or cleaned her cage, so my dad gave her to me. Her name used to be Zazu, from the Lion King, you know? Relena loves that movie and I don't think she realized that the bird's female, not male, and she's not a zebra finch, either. When I got her, I decided to rename her," he smiled to himself, "I was really into Doctor Who at that age, I guess I still am, and my favorite episode was Blink, so I named my bird after the main character, Sally Sparrow."

Heero couldn't stop his laughter at that.

"Cute," he teased, "and Sally seems more appropriate than Zazu."

"Did you ever see the Lion King?" Duo asked in suspicion. Heero shook his head.

"I wasn't much into cartoons when I was little, let alone Disney flicks," he confessed.

"Me, neither," Duo responded, "I watched a fair amount of cartoons, but I could never get into Disney movies."

He threw a sheet over Sally's cage.

"Good night, sweetie," he murmured. Heero's expression turned sad. It was sweet that the teenager was so attached to the bird, but depressing that he was closer to a bird than a person. He was sure that Sally had been Duo's only friend for a very long time. But not anymore.

"She'll settle down in a few minutes, now that she can't see any lights," Duo informed him, pulling back the covers on his bed, blushing as, he, too, seemed to realize what they were about to do.

"How do you want to do this?" he asked nervously. Heero shrugged, trying to downplay his own nervousness. It was stupid, really, he was twenty-five years old, but in this moment, in any moment that he shared with Duo, he felt like he was a teenager again. In reality, he had wasted the last ten years of his life in those woods, devoid of all the things that matured people. He had only been a teenager himself when he had left his past behind. There were so many things that people his age had done, and he hadn't done any of them. He had thought that nothing could fluster him, that the things he had gone through in the past ten years had matured him beyond his age, but the thought of getting into the same bed with Duo, even with clothes between them, made him feel like he was going to combust.

Heero took the decision out of Duo's hands, climbing into bed and making room for Duo, who looked as thought he were about to combust himself, his normally pale face a brilliant red. Duo chanted to himself that this… arrangement… was only because of his nightmares and his loneliness, as soon as his father came home tomorrow, it would never happen again, so he should enjoy it while he could, but as much as he tried to tell himself that this was the end to something, it felt like the beginning to him. It felt like something more than just a comfort between friends.

He had told Heero that he loved him and Heero, in turn, had told him the same thing. How could getting in bed with him be simple at all? Sure, they hadn't asked for a romantic relationship, but wasn't that a given with how they felt for each other? They had kissed and comforted each other, had shared breakfast and were now going to share a bed. Even if no sex was involved, it felt like a big deal to Duo. It was scary. He trusted Heero not to do anything to him that he wasn't ready for, and he wasn't ready for much. He could confess to himself now that he definitely loved Heero, but he had no idea what a romantic relationship would mean or how he should approach it. Hell, the single kiss they had shared was the most interest anyone had shown him in that way. He wasn't completely childish, he knew what sex was, even sex between two men, but the kiss itself had floored him, he just didn't think that he was ready for anything more intense than that.

The prospect of tomorrow was just as frightening as the prospect of sex with Heero, which was definitely saying something. Duo's limited knowledge, coupled with Heero's good looks, intense personality, age, and the way that Duo felt for him made the idea of sex seem so impossible and overwhelming. But tomorrow was something else. It was something that was definitely going to happen, there was nothing he could do to stop it, and it scared him to death. His father was coming home tomorrow and keeping his feelings a secret from him seemed, not only impossible, but it was something that he just couldn't do. Despite the rift in their relationship, Duo loved his father and felt incapable of lying to him, especially about something so huge, but he was afraid of what such a confession would mean.

Duo had no idea what his father would do when he found out that, not only his son was gay, but that he had fallen for the homeless man he had taken in out of the kindness of his heart. What if his father decided that he didn't want Heero to stay here anymore? He didn't no what he would do in that situation. He would never let that happen to Heero, or rather, he couldn't stand to let Heero down, couldn't stand to be alone, knowing that Heero would be homeless and he would end up losing the best thing that had happened to him in ten long years. What if the confession made his father hate him even more than he already did and threw the both of them out? Actually, that didn't seem quite as cruel as just throwing Heero out, at least they could suffer together. He wasn't even sure how to tell his father. Heero was right, though, his father needed to be told and he needed to understand how the both of them felt. He just wished that that idea didn't scare him so much. It was one thing that a few of their staff had been gay, but a member of the family? If it was going to shame his father, Duo didn't want to tell him at all. But that just wasn't an option. Like he had told Heero, he couldn't be anything less than what he was, it was just a fact.

Duo left the shades and window opened, turning off his lamp and approaching the bed again where Heero was lying on his side, waiting for him. He wondered if he should go by Relena's room and check up on her. For all he knew, she could be skulking around the house, staying up late in their father's absence or worse, but he felt tired and he was sure that if he had to speak to her, he would probably overreact. Besides, there was something oddly inviting about the thought of slipping into bed with Heero. Scary, yet inviting.

Heero could see and sense how tense Duo was as he slid into bed with him, his back to him as the younger boy curled up on his side. Even though all of the lights were off in the room, with the windows uncovered, the moon shone through bright enough for both boys to be able to see each other, which made Duo feel better. He trusted Heero more than anyone else that he knew, even his father, but he wanted to be able to see his face, wanted to know what Heero was thinking and feeling, if he thought Duo was being silly for being unable to relax. It wasn't a problem with Heero, it was a problem with himself, not knowing the right thing to do. The ball he had curled up into was tight and looked uncomfortable, making Heero almost laugh.

"I'm not going to bite you," he teased, but Duo only stiffened further.

"I don't know what to do," Duo murmured, toying with the sheets that were tossed over his legs. Heero sighed.

"Do you want me to go to my room?" he asked mournfully. Duo shook his head and rolled over onto his back, looking up at Heero who was still on his side, his head propped up on his hand.

"No, I'm just not used to this," he reminded him.

"Just relax," Heero said softly, "close your eyes and go to sleep."

Duo snorted.

"I'm trying," he murmured, but he did feel more relaxed at the sound of Heero's deep, soothing voice.

Heero could hear the soft chirping of the crickets outside through the open window, along with the occasional hoot of an active howl, as he lied on Duo's very comfortable bed with Duo's very comfortable heat next to him. It was a huge improvement over the empty, quiet guest room, but still, he couldn't fall asleep, he was too busy watching Duo sleeping. Despite Duo's initial tensions, it had only taken about twenty minutes for him to fall asleep. The longhaired teen was on his side again, but no longer curled up in the tense way he had been, he was more sprawled out, like a housecat, one arm dangling over the side of the bed and the other tucked under one of his pillows. Heero made sure that they weren't touching, since Duo had seemed uncomfortable with it, but he smiled at how Duo's features now seemed so relaxed, either because he was asleep or he had finally become comfortable with their position.

Heero's eyes softened to pure affection and love as Duo briefly rubbed at his nose in his sleep. He leaned over him, lightly brushing his bangs away to place a kiss on his temple. Duo made an odd snuffling sound, like a puppy would, and rolled over to curl up against Heero's stomach. Heero watched him with a shocked expression, then chuckled softly.

"No nightmares," he murmured, tucking the sheets back around Duo's shoulders as the boy didn't move away from him. He dared to throw an arm around Duo's waist and was rewarded when Duo didn't tense. His body was slender, but warm, and trying not to fall asleep with his love pressed against him was impossible for Heero. The last time he had felt this relaxed and at home was… well, the last time he had seen his father, alive and well, but that still didn't feel quite like this.

Heero laid his head on top of Duo's, feeling the younger boy's breath ghosting over the bare skin of his neck. He had never thought that this would happen. He was in love… and he had found a home again. Those two things, separate of each other, were things that he was willing to fight in order to keep. They were things he couldn't afford to lose, even if he had to confront a past he had tried so hard to run from to keep them close. For the first time in ten years, Heero slipped into sleep, feeling truly happy without an ounce of regret.

*****

Morning found Relena on the bottom of the steps leading up to the bedrooms, waiting for her father to come home while Duo and Heero were still struggling to get out of bed. It was weird, for both of them, waking up nearly in each other's arms, but they managed to get ready for the day without feeling awkward about it. Heero changed into a pair of Treize's jeans, though he had to use a belt since they were slightly too big on him, and a t-shirt.

Sunlight streamed brightly through every window in the house while outside a slight breeze ruffled flowers and trees. It was a typical spring day, warm without being uncomfortable like it often was in the summer. Duo was already smiling with the thought that it was a perfect day for the two of them to walk around in the woods. He was still scared about it and he knew he always would be scared of the woods, especially the river, but the previous day had shown him just how much he trusted Heero. It was hard for him to let people get close, both emotionally and physically, but, beyond his initial discomfort, he had let Heero sleep next to him and he had slept well. There was no way he could have done that with any other person, even his father. He had slept through the night completely, not waking up once. Maybe he had had nightmares, but if he had, once morning had come, he couldn't remember them and he hadn't stirred all night. He had let Heero kiss him, had let him comfort him and hold him, letting him take him back into the woods that scared him so much seemed so small compared to those things.

From Duo's bedroom, as Duo made the bed and Heero filled Sally's feed, they heard the doors downstairs close and they shared a nervous look.

*****

Waiting for her father to come home was the most patient thing Relena had ever done, but she wanted to be the first to see him that morning. She could hear Duo and Heero moving around upstairs, but she didn't pay them any sort of mind. They had been cavorting all night long, keeping to themselves and ignoring her, like she was the guest, not Heero. It enraged her, that her little brother hadn't even given her the time of day, hadn't listened to her, or even cared where she was or what she was doing. That wasn't how things were supposed to go.

But things were going to be different from now on, because she finally had a plan. She wasn't jealous of Heero, of how he had taken her little brother's attentiveness to her away, she would never stoop to something like that, but Heero had destroyed the natural order of things. Duo had changed and for the first time in her life, Relena felt like she had been left out in the cold, like she had been completely forgotten and that was unacceptable.

Relena perked as she heard the front door open and her father's unmistakable stride in the front hallway. She could also hear the two boys coming down the steps, but knew she was going to reach her father first. Not that that mattered, her brother was too honest, he couldn't refute the facts, even if he really wanted to. It was funny, really, how she could get her revenge on her stupid brother and his new, nasty friend just by telling the truth. She didn't even look at either Heero or Duo as they came down the steps. Treize strode up to them in amusement, still wearing a neat and handsome suit, thinking that the little crowd was like a bad eighties sitcom with all his kids waiting for him almost in a line.

"Daddy!" Relena exclaimed, running up to hug him. It wasn't something she did often, but it made Treize smile and he hugged her back. She was too old for such an exuberant greeting and Duo seemed so uncomfortable with hugging him, they only ever shook hands.

"I'm so glad you're home," she said in a near moan, "I was alone all day yesterday!"

Treize gently pushed his daughter off of him and looked at Duo in confusion.

"And what did you do all day yesterday that Relena didn't even see you?" he asked softly, so Duo wouldn't think he was accusing him of anything. Really, he wasn't mad, just curious. He was glad that Duo had staid away from Relena if it meant that that was the only way they could get along. Usually, Duo was soft spoken enough to let Relena roll over him, but while Treize wasn't sure that this new side of his son was a good thing, he was glad that Duo wasn't letting her walk over him anymore.

Duo blushed, hesitating to say anything. He wasn't quite sure if he was in trouble. His father wasn't yelling at him, but he didn't look completely happy, either.

"He and Heero," Relena bit out the vagrant's name like a curse, "spent all day together and didn't talk to me at all! They even spent all night in the guest room together!" she glared at Heero in accusation, but Heero and Duo saw the strange glint in her eye that was far from angry, "What is it with you and my little brother, anyway? Are you some sort of pervert chasing after little boys? Is that why you locked him up in your room when Dad left for the day?" she sneered in a farce of concern for her sibling.

Duo and Heero stared at her in shock. Duo hadn't even had the chance to confess anything to his father. He still wasn't sure that he would have, but Relena had beaten him to the punch anyway. Not only that, but she had twisted the whole thing around to make it look like she actually cared about him and thought that Heero had… had raped him! The terrible thing was, it was something that they couldn't prove or disprove. Heero's bed hadn't been slept in and Heero's clothes from yesterday were in Duo's room and he would hate for his father to find those things and think that Relena was actually telling the truth. She hadn't exactly lied, but he knew that she was only bringing it up to get Heero kicked out of the house.

Duo clenched his hands into fists, rage filling him at the sight of Relena's triumphant expression. How dare she accuse Heero of something so disgusting?! Why the hell did she have to do this to him?! He had finally found something, someone, that he loved and she just couldn't let him be! More than that, she had accused a wonderful, gentle person of something terrible, something that she knew damn well wasn't true! He walked up to Relena with a growl and slapped her across the face. He heard Heero and his father gasp in shock at his actions, but he didn't care, he was just too damn mad. That part of him that Relena had hurt with all those years of bullying relished her startled shriek at the blow and how she stumbled backwards, looking at him with terrified eyes. It was a terrible thing, and he knew that, but it had felt kind of good, to just let his anger flow out of him, to finally get back at her after all this time.

"Don't you dare say those things about Heero! He's a better person than you've ever been to me!" he snarled at her. Rage filled Relena's expression and, with a wordless cry of anger, she made to attack him back, but Treize grabbed her by her arms and yanked her back.

"Stop it, both of you!" he yelled, giving Heero a highly suspicious look that made Duo's stomach drop and fear and hopelessness replaced his anger. Relena relaxed in her father's grasp, but she continued to glare at her brother. How dare he strike her and say that that… animal was a better person than she was?!

"Dad, Heero didn't do anything! We just talked, that was all!" Duo tried to soothe the situation, his words coming out in a panicked rush. Treize looked at him in alarm. He had never seen his younger child so distressed and couldn't help but wonder what had really gone on in this house when he had been gone. Duo had said that Heero hadn't done anything, but the way he was acting was so out of character… still, his daughter didn't exactly have the habit of telling the truth, either. But he also loved his son, and as much as he wanted to believe that Heero was a good person and would never do something… like that… he loved Duo too much just to walk away from such accusations.

"Relena, go to your room," Treize snapped at the girl as he released her.

"But I haven't done anything!" she protested, "Heero's the one who was messing around with Duo!"

"That's enough!" Treize grounded out, "If you were worried about your brother's safety with Duo, you should have called me on my cell phone the very second you had any suspicions instead of waiting to tell me when I got home! Now, go to your room. I have to speak to Heero and Duo alone."

Relena snorted in irritation at being sent to her room, but blushed at her father's angry admonitions and walked quickly up the steps, glaring at her brother as she passed him.

"Sir," Heero said calmly, "I know what this looks like, but Relena's wrong. I didn't do anything-,"

Treize put a hand up to silence him and folded his arms over his chest, giving them both stern looks.

"I don't know what went on in this house, or who is telling the truth," he confessed.

"You can't kick Heero out just because of what Relena said!" Duo demanded, tears in his eyes. After dealing with all of Relena's temper tantrums, he had thought that he could deal with any of his children crying, but Duo's expression made Treize's heart hurt and he put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I'm not going to kick Heero out unless I know for sure that he did something to hurt you," Treize assured him.

"But he didn't do anything!" Duo insisted, "You know that Relena doesn't like him!"

"I don't know anything," Treize said stiffly, "I don't know what went on here yesterday. All I know is that my daughter seems to think that a near stranger raped my youngest child. Despite her track record, or what you say, I can't pretend that nothing is wrong. I won't kick Heero out, but I forbid the two of you to be alone together until I can discover the truth."

"No!" Duo yelled at his father, "You can't do that!"

Treize's gaze softened as he looked at his son. Duo was usually so timid, and now that he was finally standing up for something, Treize was happy about it, to see some fire and life in him at last, but he knew that he had to reprimand him for it.

"Yes, I can, Duo and you will listen to me!" Treize's voice was stern again, but it lacked any anger. He instantly felt bad as Duo started to tremble, but refused to cry. He had always had more problems dealing with Duo's tears than Relena's. Heero watched his friend struggle with his father's order and ached to comfort him, but knew that any attempts to touch the longhaired boy would just make the situation worse. He watched as Treize squeezed his son's shoulder, trying to comfort, but not folding in his decision. Heero didn't blame him for it. He knew that, if he had been in Treize's place, he would not have been so kind and patient about it. If he hadn't known better, if he hadn't seen Treize's affection for his children in his eyes, Heero would have thought that the man was being careless and uncaring with his son's safety.

"Heero didn't do anything," Duo murmured again, his voice tight with defeat and pain. Treize brushed Duo's bangs from his face in a tender gesture.

"Duo, I'm sorry," he said, watching the emotions play across his son's face carefully, "I believe that Heero is a good man."

Heero stared at the man in shock at the conviction in his voice.

"Then why?" Duo begged, looking his father in the eye, "He's the only friend I have!"

"Because I love you," Treize said, his voice strong and solid. Duo looked at him with wide eyes, and the shock at Treize's words hurt the man deeply, that Duo would doubt his love for him so much.

"You are my child and I will always love you," Treize said softly, "I trust Heero enough to let him stay, but I love you too much to risk your well being on my mere gut instinct. I will do anything to keep you safe."

When Treize's eyes met Heero's, the younger man nodded to him.

"I understand, and I'll do anything to prove to you that I never touched your son that way," he told him. Treize seemed to brighten at his acceptance.

"I'm sure you will," he smiled, "In any case, I do need to talk to you."

Heero nodded again, a little bit solemnly. Treize started to walk towards the steps, but Duo pulled him back.

"I'm glad you are home, father," he said sincerely, hugging his father tightly. Despite how horrible he felt about what was happening, Heero couldn't help but smile at the sight. Treize almost gasped at the embrace. Duo hadn't hugged him since he had been a child, but he could feel the honesty in it.

"Thank you," Duo murmured, "for trusting Heero and… for saying that you love me," he choked on that bit.

'Even if it is a lie, or even if you only love me out of your duty as a father,' he thought sadly. His father wasn't going to throw Heero away, he was actually going to give him a chance to prove their version of the truth. And he had said that he loved him, that he wanted to protect him. Even if it was a lie, Duo wanted to believe it too much to simply toss those sentiments away. Treize kissed the top of his head.

"Always," his father murmured.

Duo watched as his father led Heero back up the stairs, and despite all his insistences that he was going to listen to whatever Heero had to say, he couldn't help but hate Relena very deeply, feeling as though she had stolen something very precious away from him. No matter what, he promised himself, he would get it back.

End Part 3

Well, there's another bit done. There isn't a ton more, plot wise. Well, I'm off to write a bit more in The Road to Kindness and start the next chapter of A Stagnation of Love. These three are the highest on my list of fics that need to be completed (though at this point, it will take forever to get The Road to Kindness finished).


End file.
